Connected Hearts
by Plata-Azul Firebird
Summary: One becomes two... and both are in danger... After the trials on both worlds, only Netto, who's now Axl, Saito, who's now Rockman.EXE and Sora can bring peace on both worlds. Rockman.EXExMMX crossover! REVISING!
1. Good-bye and Hello

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Good-bye and Hello**_

Silver: Hey! I'm back! Like WOAH… what a ride… As I've said before I'm planning on revising this story due to the fact… that I'm starting to find it crappy and to the fact that I kept making mistakes on past and present tense. The story and plot is still the same, but the writings will be a bit improved. Anyway, here's a (small, tiny even) different summary:

Two worlds, Three hearts, One link. Three special childrens were born, the first one is destined to die and to be reborn again in its home world, while the other is also destined to die but is reborn in another world. The third one remains well and to grow, the one who will either connect or separate the two worlds and the two special people. So when someone wants to conquer both worlds, only the these three children can stop that lunatic from doing it…

Silver: Okay, you know the drill, we got triplets instead of twins, got it memorize? Hope you like it!

P.S. On the MMBN, I'm using Japanese names of the characters.

**Revise date:** April 14, 2010

(Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman Battle Network or Megaman X, only Capcom does)

* * *

**Good-bye and Hello**

_Tut…_

_Tut…_

_Tut…_

In a dark facility, machines hums in function, tables are littered with parts and blueprints, colorful lights shines like the sparkling stars in the dark…

And then, a small figure moved but stopped due to...

Pain.

It lances through him, burning in every part of his body, but he opens his eyes and saw that he is lying in some kind of strange capsule. His body also felt strange, he cannot move his legs or his left arm… only to realizes his horror

That they are not there… turning his head, he saw an old man that seems to be a bit faded like a ghost, he kinda look creepy he noted. He did not know what is going on, and then a stronger pain surrounds his body. He screams as he felt like he is on fire and is being torn away from his body…

And then darkness surrounds him.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile in Den Tech city…

Slowly, three men lifted the coffin and carefully place it in the hole they dug before. The Hikari family and their friends are there, silently mourning, weeping… and to say their final farewells to a boy named Hikari Alex Netto

or Saito still remember what happen to his younger brother. He and Netto are in their Cross Fusion form, battling against Dark Blues when it uses a new and unknown attack on them. That caused Netto to defuse, then the demented Darkloid tortured his brother by slicing his limbs and then… he uses the attack again on him, Rockman heard his brother scream in pain but he can do nothing for he couldn't enter the human world.

"_Netto!" Rockman screamed, as his brother vanish in a stream of light and Dark Blues disappeared without a trace._

After that, no one could find the boy's body as if the attack have completely disintegrated him into nothing. Only the legs and the left arm were found, as they are near the blue navi's PET when his father found him. And those are the only parts that are in the coffin. As much as they wanted to find the rest of the boy, they have to accept the harsh truth...

The first Net Saviour, the hero of the Cyberworld and Rockman's operator and brother is dead.

And Rockman will not forgive Dark Blues or Nebula, he never will.

Now the government needs to recruit a new Net Saviour with Netto's skills on netbattling, and the only person who can match that is... Rockman's and Netto's only sister, Sora Miriku Hikari.

Truth is, Hikari Haruka gave birth to triplets, two boys and one girl. Unfortunately, the two of the babies have gotten sick after their birth and Saito died to a new disease called HBD. Sora, on the other hand, have a weak immune system and they are afraid that she too would have HBD like her older brother. They sent her to the States where it have the best medical facilities at that time and Haruka's sister became the child's guardian while she lives in Kansas. Somehow, the young girl managed to live thru the ordeal and is quite active like her younger brother. Her improvement baffled the medical experts as they have no idea how her health improved, as her aunt considers it as a miracle.

But now... it is time for her to go home.

**:::^*^:::**

In Kansas, at the Crouse farm…

At the barn, a girl in her preteens is fixing a device that suppose to be a part of a robot, which is going to compete in the next tourney. She have brown eyes, a long brown hair tied in a tight tie, making it look like a tail and short layers to frame her head as if she have a short hair. She rechecks the device, seeing if it could work... when she spots the black car just stopping near her house.

'The government?' She thought. She recognizes the car since she was young, when her grandmother was alive. They used to asked her for any projects that her husband, and the brunette's grandfather, left behind to help make the net better for the world. The last time she saw them is when they are paying respect on her funeral, and the ownership of the projects were inherited to her. The brunette never touched any of the said projects, out of respect and love of her grandfather, and left it as it is.

Her aunt came out of the house to greet the men in blacks, asking why they're here. The girl cannot hear what the people are saying, but she can tell that her aunt does not agree with their conversation by her expression on her face. Before her aunt could grab the broom to drive them off the farm, the girl quickly dropped what she's doing and dashes towards her aunt to calm her down.

"Auntie!" the girl calls out, as she runs to the woman with a short black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Sora!" the woman said, startled to see her out but she immediately grabs her niece and pushes her into the house. "Get inside and don't go out till I tell you so." The woman said sternly, with a bit of panic in her voice.

"Wait! What's going on?" Sora asked, trying to get free from her aunt's grip. Unfortunately, her aunt is a little stronger than she is, so she has no success on getting free until one of the men helps her.

"Mrs. Crouse, I understand that you care for your niece, but we need her help on this battle." the man said, as he readjust his glasses, then the brunette twist her body and successfully got out of his grip.

"Battle? What battle?" She asked, looking at the man as if he grown two heads.

"A Netbattle, only it's different." The other man said as the girl looks at him. "So see your father discovered that the viruses from the net are crossing to our world. Moreover, in order to keep the peace, the government put up an organization called Net Saviour. Your brother, Netto Hikari, is one of the best in the organization."

"…I think I got it, but what does that to do with me?" She asked, she have a feeling that she's not going to like this.

"Sora, your brother died in one of his battles against the Darkloid, and we need you to replace him." He said.

"What! You've got to be kidding me!" the brunette shouts out of shock and disbelief but the man ignored her outburst.

"You can't make her fight, she's just a child! A girl, even!" Mrs. Crouse shrieks, who finally got the broom and immediately stands in front of her niece. But that action did not faze them and adjusted their glasses and ear pieces, as they receive a call from their boss.

"We'll wait for your answer within 24 hours…" The man said and then they re-entered the car and drove away, leaving Sora's aunt to wave her broom at them violently... But for the brunette girl, she stands in shock of the news and in front of a fork path on her future.

**:::^*^:::**

She and her aunt have a talk about her decision on taking her brother's place as a Net Saviour. As much as the elder woman wishes her to deny the invitation, inside she knows that this could be a chance to the girl to be with her parents. It will hurt to let her niece go into battlefield at such a young age, but she will at least make her sister, Haruka, happy. She also knows her niece is mourning for the loss of her brother. Even if they just met in rare occasions, they are still her family...

Which is why she let her niece think of her decision tonight...

After a uneventful dinner, Sora silently makes a beeline for her room as her aunt takes on breaking the news to the rest of the family.

"Sora, did you have a nice day?" A net navi greeted her partner thru the screen of the navy blue PET, which is on the study table. The navi is a girl, purple eyes and black digital low ponytail. She wore a black jumpsuit and navy blue armour with gold trimmings on the edge. She also wore a short, navy blue with gold trimming half-skirt, that is attach on her white belt. On her chest is the symbol of the Hikari family, there are also a pair of it on her helmet. Her helmet has a pair of wings on the side, and is attached to the symbols. In addition, there is a crystal, clear gem resting in the middle of the helmet.

"No, some government want me to join the military." She replied sourly, as she hit her face on the bed and her navi notices tears leaking out of her eyes.

"Sora, are you crying?" The navi asked, finishing organizing the schedule for the week and turns her full attention on her distress NetOp.

"No, Rouge, I'm not." She states sternly, as she swipes the tears off her eyes.

"Sora..." Rouge said in worry.

"Fine, I'll you why." finally snapping with a hint of annoyance on her voice and faces her partner. "I have of go to Akihabara in Japan to take my brother's place as a Net Saviour, why? Because my brother is dead and I'm the only one with the same netbattling skill as him."

The navi is silent, looking at her partner incredulously on hearing the news of her brother's death. "I-I'm sorry…" she apologizes as she looks down.

The brunette sighs, she gets up her bed and pick up her PET. "It... it's not your fault... I'm sorry too."

Then silence reigns for a while, which made the situation a bit awkward that the female navi decides to break it."So you don't want to be a soldier in the war you never known?" Rouge asked, tilting her head on the side.

"I…I don't know… I mean, I live most of my life here in America. But my family are there and I want to meet them… and to protect them also." Sora stutters a bit. "But I have a life here too..." she added.

"I see… Take your time, Sora-chan. Whatever your decision is, I'll respect it." Rouge said with gentleness in her voice. Sora thanked her navi, placing her PET back on the charger, change into her sleeping wear and went to bed. But she could not shut her eyes on the news on her brother... another tear leaks out as she turns to her side and shuts her eyes, forcing herself to sleep.

:::^_Dream_^:::

Opening her eyes, she found herself floating in a white abyss and sees two worlds just above her. The first one is her home, she thought, and the other is somewhat in a middle of a world war 3. Then beside her are two lights, inside it are human figures. Taking a good look, she sees a net navi, her older brother in the first one and in the other is a boy in a strange armor that could almost pass as a navi.

Then there's a flash and turns to see a strange but beautiful woman dressed in all white, she is smiling and somewhat giving off a motherly vibe. She went close, although the brunette tries to move, the lady's hand gently caress her face.

"_One becomes two…"_

"_For two to become one…"_

"_Three must be in harmony…"_

The woman smiles brightly as she drops her hand on her side.

She didn't understand what the woman said, she tries to talk to her when everything turns white.

:::^_End of Dream_^:::

The next day...

Sora made her decision.

She'll go to Japan and join the Net Saviour.

Of course, her aunt tries to change her mind, but Sora told her that she will be okay and promise to take care of herself. The elder woman sighs and respected her niece's choice, as the girl makes her way to her room to pack up. As she packs up her clothes and other stuffs in the suitcase, she caught a glimpse of a pair of pictures on her bedroom wall. Stopping for a bit, she place down her shirts on the bed and walks towards the said pictures. She takes them off the wall and stares at it...

First is a picture of her, her brother and her grandmother... they are three at that time and their grandmother was still fit to play with them at that time. Two years after this picture is taken, she passed away.

The other picture is her grandfather... he died before they were born. But both she and Netto loved him despite he's no longer alive.

A sad smile forms. "I'm going... I'm going back to our family, minna." she whispers, as she moves to her bed and picks a shirt. She wraps it around the picture and places it in the suitcase, then resumes packing.

Once she is done, she slings her backpack on and takes one last look on her room before she rolls out her suitcase. The agents arrived and helps her putting the bags at the back of their car, as she receive her plane ticket from one of the agents. Her aunt, her uncle and her cousins gives her a hug, helpers in the farm gave her souvenirs to remember them by and the robots she repaired to help in the farm also bids her farewell. But before she goes, she gives the device she was working on to her elder cousin, requesting that he delivers it to her friends and teammates. She then gets in the car and takes a good look at the farm, she waves them goodbye as the car drives off. She feels a little guilty since she did not call her friends about her departure, but she is a little sure that they will accept her decision once she calls them when she arrives in Japan.

'Bye America…' Sora thought, as the car drives all the way to the airport.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile… in another world.

A year later...

He groans at the little pain he is feeling on the back, but he does not open his eyes.

**BOOM!**

His eyes snap open in alert and stands up, only to trip and falls forward on the hard floor. He feels something different about himself, but he ignored it when another explosion was heard. With fear implanted in his mind, the young reploid quickly scrambles up and runs out of the room, escaping whatever made the loud noise. He runs down the hall, jumping over trash and debris on the way. And once he accidentally triggered something causing him to dash so fast, he nearly hits the wall on that turn.

Eventually, he manages to find the exit and makes his way there with questions in his mind.

'Where is my navi? Where is Rockman? What happen to me?' he thought, as he slips and rolls down on the spillway and lands on a pile of junks. He gets up to find himself in a open, dry but polluted man-made river, above him are noises of shooting and dim flashes. Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, he scrambled up and runs once more. But to some unfortunate luck, he runs into a machine that looks like a praying mantis and he is frozen into place by fear. It took him a full minute to tell his legs to move, but within those moments the machine made a cross-shaped scar on his face.

He yelps in pain, holding his face as he quickly backs off, as the noise only encourage the machine to attack him. He tries to escape the mantis, only it gave chase and attempts to slice him in half. 'Rockman! Where are you?!' he thought frantically and then he trips to the ground, giving the nasty machine the chance to lunge at him. In panic, he threw his arms to his head and braces for the impact and pain…

Nothing…

He lowers his arms, only to see the blades of the mantis-machine have been slice off its arms. The blades are stabbed on the ground, far from them as the machine whines and roars at the lost of weapons.

"Back off, why don't you go bugging someone else." a voice stated coolly and he looks behind him, to see another reploid with his double-edge scythe lit and resting on his shoulder. The mantis shrieks angrily at the newcomer, the reploid merely smirks and quickly finishes it off by slicing it into three more pieces.

As the sliced pieces falls down on the ground, he looks at the scared reploid on the ground. "Hey kid, are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah… thanks mister…" the young reploid said, still shaky as he stands up.

"The name's Red, kid." The reploid said, and smiled a bit. 'He's probably just activated a few moments ago… poor kid.' he thought, then asked for the kid's name.

"Ummm…" he said nervously, his mind is quite blank but he still wonders about his brother and the situation he landed in. Then Red spotted a dog tag around his neck, he takes a look at it and found carvings at the back.

"Axl…" Red said, gently tracing the three letters carved on the dog tag.

"Huh?" the young reploid asked out of confusion.

"It your name, I must say it fits you." Red said and gently drop the tag. "So what happened?" he asked and surprisingly in a father-like tone. Heck he even surprise himself by bit.

"I don't remember… all I know I heard explosions, I ran and fell, and got myself into trouble and you saved me." Axl said, sensing there is no more danger and relaxes a bit.

"I see…" Red said, then notices the bleeding face and he lends the young reploid a piece of cloth to cover it. After that, Red decided to let Axl joined the Red Alert since he has no place to go... he got a feeling that this kid will go far as a Hunter. And so Red led the way to his base, Red Alert, with Axl following behind.

Then...

'Wait... my name is not Axl...' the young reploid thought as he follows the elder reploid to a teleporter. A memory of the said blue navi is played in his mind and there he rediscovers his name.

_"Not again..." the blue navi groans. "You're going to be late for school... Wake up! Hikari Alex Netto!"_

* * *

Hikari: Yay! The **EDIT** version ish done and yes, there are changes… Like how Netto/Axl met Red, the quotes from the strange lady etc… etc… And now for bloopers!

* * *

**Bloopers!**

**Props long forgotten.**

Pain.

It lances through him, burning in every part of his body, but he opens his eyes and saw that he is lying in some kind of strange capsule. His body also felt strange, he cannot move his legs or his left arm… only to realizes his horror.

"ACHOO!"

Silver: Cut! Netto!

Netto: Hey! Don't look at me! This capsule is full of dust bunnies! ACHOO!

Silver: Who was supposed to clean that thing?

* * *

**Power Cut 1**

Pain.

It lances through him, burning in every part of his body, but he opens his eyes and saw that he is lying in some kind of strange capsule. His body also felt strange, he cannot move his legs or his left arm… only to realizes his horror…

Then suddenly the power died.

Silver: Ack! Quick get the medic or Netto will die!

As Netto struggles to lived and swears not to do this part ever again (dying twice is not much of an idea.) At the back…

Wily: He he ehe, with that brat gone, I'll be the star of the story! BWAHAHAHA!

Rockman and Sora: You…

A pair of terrifying, overprotective older siblings… I say, Wily didn't do anything daring after that…

Wily: Not the face! Not the FACE!

Zero: Remind me again, why he's our dad? (and Forte is nodding behind him.)

* * *

**Power Cut 2**

Opening her eyes, she found herself floating in a white abyss and sees two worlds just above her. The first one is her home, she thought, and the other is somewhat in a middle of a world war 3. Then beside her are two lights, inside it are human figures. Taking a good look, she sees a net navi, her older brother in the first one and in the other is a boy in a strange armor that could almost pass as a navi.

Then everything went black and the trio fell to the floor.

X: I think we blown a fuse.

Silver: Dang, that's the tenth time that happened…

Sora and Axl: Owww… (While Rockman is knock out.)

Silver: (sighs) I'm gonna go and get Brightman… (left)

* * *

**Cukaracha**

'Where is my navi? Where is Rockman? What happen to me?' he thought, as he slips and rolls down on the spillway and lands on a pile of junks. He gets up to find himself in a open, dry but polluted man-made river, above him are noises of shooting and dim flashes. Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, he scrambled up and runs once more. But to some unfortunate luck, he runs into a machine that looks like...

Axl screamed, so did Sora and Silver the three quickly dash out of the room.

Everybody looks at them till Blues checks the script and…

Blues: Okay, who ordered a cockroach mechaniloid? We're suppose to have a praying mantis-type.

* * *

Silver: That's all, read and review.


	2. Protectors of two different worlds

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Protectors of two different worlds**_

Silver: Chapter 2 revised! And if you are still clueless on the mysterious android that was singing in the omake… It's actually Zero! XD! Yes! He got infected by the song too!

(Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman Battle Network and Megaman X; if I do I'll turn Zero into a complete girl!)

* * *

**Protectors**** of two different worlds**

Axl… or by his real name: Hikari Alex Netto, is standing on the rooftop of Maverick Hunter HQ. It's been years since he came to this world and he sighs as he stares at the stars.

**:::^**_Axl's P.O.V._**^:::**

Man… It's been years and I still haven't found the guy who turned me into this…

I really want to thank him on saving me, and giving me a second chance like what papa did to Rockman. And I have to ask him about my body, how he found and what he done to me... I could also ask him if he met my older brother.

I'm thankful on the fact that I'm in a parallel world. If this is the dystopian future or the aftermath of Nebula's attacks, I would probably shoot myself right on the head. This world is similar but a lot different from mine, in terms of technology. In my home world, my grandpa's research in computer network won, and opened the net to the world. But here in this world, a similar competition happened but Wily's research in robotics won instead... I don't know what happened after that, either there were no records of it or are wipe out in a wide-scale disaster. Robotics and machinery are highly advance, the reploids here can afford having homes and cars of their own. Computers and the network, on the other hand, is somewhat behind compared to my home, but they nevertheless tried to improve their anti-virus programs for reploids. There is also a cyberworld in this place but it merely uses the surface of it, unlike in my world, it is the entire system and the network.

I've also change a bit since I woke up in this world, just to fit in and not stick out like a sore thumb. Not to mention the looks too, I got auburn, spiky hair and green eyes… I wonder what will mom react if she sees my new eye color… She'll say me and Rock match now, for sure…

I am very grateful to Red, who saved me and took me in. He is the leader of Red Alert, a organization of bounty hunters using any means to take out the mavericks. He became my mentor in combat and I slightly surprised him on breezing thru his training courses... but I decided to tone a bit down after that. However, what really surprised him and other members is the fact that I'm more of an expert on computers from anyone else. I accidentally hack an impressive and highly secure government system while trying to find more information about this world, and I have no clue what I was hacking that time. It seems my memories of being a NetOp and my new computerize brain, have compromise and adapt it into hacking skills. I was discovered and they had me in charge with data collection, as in hacking and stealing info. After passing the tests from Red, he gave me a pair of guns as a graduation gift. He said that he found the guns in the same place where he found me, and thought that these were meant for me. On taking the guns, a part of my system jumped to life as it recognized the guns, which is now called 'Axl Bullets'.

I smiled at the memories of the times I spent with Red and the Red Alert members, all the good, the bad and the annoying ones. A vein pops out of my head when I remembered Vanishing Gungaroo calling me a daddy's boy right in front of Red after a successful mission… Despite, I prayed for him to be accepted in heaven, I really want to smack him on the face.

Time passed by and I became the best member in Red Alert, and sometimes Red would ask me to join in his missions. To be honest, I consider Red as my second father, since he is very concern about me and quite fatherly. He would also point out any flaw I make and correct them, and he looks proud when I win. The people there are also nice, since they consider me as one of them… a family…

And while I was in training, I discovered something about my new body. For starters, I'm a New Generation Reploid… Why am I a New Generation? I can transform into any reploid, thanks to the Copy Chip inside me and as long as I have the DNA of that target. Also I cannot be infected by any viruses, they guessed that my Copy Chip deletes anything that is harmful for me... but in truth, it's all thanks to my human side. There are a few time I took a look inside of me, and there I have a special immune system. It is a odd combination of biological organism, data and machinery, which seems to work well together. Unlike the normal reploid immune system, mine is constantly improving and evolving it's defenses against virus.

... Which reminds me that when the government decided to mass produce my kind, it seems they missed the third component of the immune system... Why do I get the feeling something will go downhill...

Speaking of viruses, I heard something about how a reploid can turn into a maverick, by a virus and it is called the Sigma Virus. I also once heard that the source of the virus was from a reploid called Sigma, who was once the leader of Maverick Hunters. But he got infected by some virus, created his own, gone rogue and began spreading them causing chaos around.

Okay, I'm starting to wish that my PET is right here, in my hand, with my brother in it. Then we go virus busting and when the virus materializes in physical form, I would go in, deleting it in my Cross Fusion form… I know, I know, it won't happen, so back to the story.

At the beginning, I thought that I was working for good, saving innocent lives and protecting others… until something turns wrong. At first, Red asked for some DNA data for study and I gave a few. Then he kept asking for more and then I noticed the other members seems to be getting too powerful. When I realized what they are actually doing and the fact that they used me as a cheat code power-up tool...

I quit.

Because of that I left Red Alert and headed to the Maverick Hunters to join them, since they do fight for what is right. As I made my way there, mavericks were in the area. Red sent them after me so I went maverick busting, shooting some of them left and right till I spotted a big one and ran from it. Then I ran passed someone, so I stopped to yell at this person to run. On first look, I thought it was a blonde girl, that this until this reploid spoke and the deep voice revealed the fact that he's a guy. He wears a red armor and carries a beam saber… He reminds me of Blues, Enzan's net navi, minus the shades and quite… feminine?

Sorry dude, but when one looks at you from a certain angle, you'll be mistaken as a girl for the rest of your life. So better thank the guy who made you for giving you a deep voice.

Well… we both ran, getting rid of some small annoyance on the way, then battled the mechaniloid, lend him a helping hand by shooting it behind, destroyed it and then I got arrested all in one sitting…

Well I was once a member of a criminal organization, so sue me.

But the one who arrested me is none other than Zero, he bought me to the Hunters HQ and there I began asking about X like on why he is missing. For one thing, I never seen or ever thought of what X looks like. But I heard he was the greatest hunter ever lived since he beaten Sigma and survive the Maverick Wars six time. And he and Zero were the reasons why I was so inspired to become a Hunter, to fill a missing piece in my life since I'm probably no longer a Net Savior.

And when I met X, I nearly have a heart attack!

… Errr... I mean a reboot! He looks like an older version of my brother! Same armor color, same eye color and the same face only difference is he's older and more mature!

Now this world wants to creep me out!

Err… let's cut the story short shall we?

So after I made a deal with X, I went out to hunt those eight mavericks that Red had set loose with Zero. And one by one, we knock them down, earning a some respect from Zero… and probably, a little from X. After we manage to save all the civilian reploids from every missions, X jumps back into action and everyone is happy although he still opposes using violence…

And once, just once, they nearly killed me during one of our mission. Hey! Those guys can't kill a human! It's in the "Three Laws", for Pete's sakes!

… Well... I could let it pass as they have no idea what I am.

After the 7th Maverick Uprising and defeated Sigma, it took me a long time to become a Maverick Hunter. Because X is still uppity about it and being the pacifist… let's say he's worse than my brother. But eventually, after a few change on my fighting style and strategy, he gives in and allowed me to become a Hunter. I'm glad to be accepted and I now officially team up with X and Zero in some missions. I finally got some new friends and I might consider them as family...

However, they only know me as a trigger-happy, over-confident and humorous new member of the Maverick Hunters... I never told them, not even Red Alert, that I'm a human-reploid hybrid nor I'm from an alternate world that is near similar to theirs.

And even if I found a place to stay, I still miss my world. I miss my family: papa, mama, my Net Navi and brother Rockman and… my sister Sora.

Then I been having strange dreams about my sister, Sora, from time to time. I only met her on rare occasions during visits to our grandmother before her death, I didn't really know that she was my sister till I was ten. We once both kept a promise to contact one another, but she broke it seeing how busy she was in both farm and school. Not to mention on those robot contests she kept joining in.

Come to think of it, I think her talents might come in handy in my situation… if she could only find her way here…

Anyway, on my first dream, Sora is in her CF form and is fighting against a huge navi with Enzan. I realize that she took my place as a Net Saviour, and she continues where I left off. Then she got hit by a punch and it sent her flying to SciLab, knocking her out. I began yelling at the thing to leave my sister alone, until I felt a force suddenly pulled me down and landed beside her. And when she came to…

She saw me…

"Netto?" Sora said in shock and I looked at myself. I was back in my human look, except for the fact that I am transparent ghost. And then I encourage her, telling her to not give in and I felt that I need to give her the power she needs to defeat that thing. So I concentrate and pass down enough power for her to win this fight, and I also sense something else is powering her up too. And I was surprise on what I did, what I gave her was enough for her and her navi to go Full Synchro.

"Thanks Netto." Sora said with a smile, as her body glowed with strength and jumps back into battle. I watched her fight against that thing and I must say that I'm impressed, after she won the battle I began to fade.

"Netto!" Sora shouts, running to me and then I notice the screen behind her. Something is forming in it and then I realize that it was…

"Netto!" Rockman shouts, before I faded away and jerked myself awake, hitting my face on the capsule's door.

These dreams happens rarely, the last time I dream about my sister is fighting at what looks like an gigantic black navi. And I began to think… that my link with my siblings hasn't been destroyed, but is only cut and needed to be reconnected. That fact made me happy but it also made me sad... because I still have no clue or idea on how to go back. And if I did, will they recognize me?

I sighed and looked up the clear night sky, I notice how pretty yet sad to look at the stars… And I feel like my family and my friends are like them… so close yet so far.

"I wish to meet you guys again." I whispered, as I raise my hand to reach for a star. Then the alarm went off, knocking out of my daze and nearly losing my balance. I quickly make a run to the meeting room where Signas should give out our mission, but when I opened the door…

"Whoa!" I yelped, as I bumped on Zero, then he bump on X and we fell on the floor on top of one another like dominos.

"Axl!" both X and Zero shouts at me.

"Sorry!" I apologized quickly, as I got off and helps the two up… Man, this is gonna be a long day…

**:::^*^:::**

In DenTech city … At the Hikari's residence.

On the rooftop is Sora, lying there under the stars and feeling the cool breeze. She sighs, and looks up at the stars again.

**:::^**Sora's P.O.V.**^:::**

It's been four years since I decided to become a Net Saviour... I wonder how is the farm doing…

I sighs… my life has changed since I came here. After I met my parents at the airport, the government told me to use Rockman instead of Rouge. Fortunately, Rockman didn't accept me as his NetOp and stayed with dad despite of demands from the government. To be honest, I've been with Rouge since I first got her, so I'm not trading her for any navi. Heck even Rockman, who's happened to be my older brother, agreed with me that time. Well, after the "argument", the government allowed me to have Rouge as my partner and gave me some battle chips that my brother left behind.

But things did not went better though…

A week before I receive my license and Synchro chip, I was first enrolled to my brother's elementary school. There, a girl by the name of Meiru, I think, slapped me right on the face!

"Hey! What's your problem?!" I snapped, but she left without a word. Then a fat boy came and greeted me, his name is Dekao, by the way. He told me why Meiru slapped me, she doesn't want me to replace my brother… young love, I thought, she's blinded by it. I thanked him and then he and Tohru became my first friends in my new school and new life. Meiru and another girl, Yaito, I think, didn't accept me for a while… a very long, long while.

One the week passed and after Rouge and I got used to the places, my dad bought me to SciLab to get my Synchro Chip. And while there I met Commissioner Kifune, who then later introduces me to Enzan and Laika. And for one unfortunate thing… both boys are walking ice cubes! I mean they are so mean to me! Bossy too!

Unfortunately, I have to work with them in every mission. GAH!

At first, our priority is to get rid of the Darkloids and stop the spreading of the Dark Chips. That was pretty much the mission till we have to delete an innocent navi whose NetOp used a Dark Chip in it. We never felt so sorry and guilty, when the NetOp cried so hard for the navi. And so we decided to do something about it… instead, we captured the infected navis and sent them to dad to make the vaccine.

They tried that before Netto's death, but I managed to convince them to make the vaccine again. It was a great plan… but a certain Darkloid seems to be immune to it…

Dark Blues, or formerly Blues, was Enzan's navi before he used the Dark Chip on him. The IPC vice-president, heck I was surprised on learning that, gave up on his navi and gave the Net Police the permission to delete him after Netto's death. Once I decided not to go against it, because of the fresh wound in his heart after what Dark Blues did to my brother. I encountered his navi many times, sometimes alone or with Laika and Searchman. We tried using the vaccine chips to weaken him but never seem to work, so dad has to work hard to improve the vaccine in order to beat him.

Then the unexpected happened…

On one encounter, I was alone and Laika is in Sharo attending his duties. This happened in a warehouse where it is in the middle of being robbed, someone escaped with the goods while I ends up doing dodge-ball against Dark Blues. While he kept throwing the attacks, I kept questioning him as I avoided his attacks and tried to hit him with any chance I can get. Then something crack… as if a glass broke or smashed, and Dark Blues fell on the floor holding his head in great pain. Out of concern, considering he is still Enzan's navi, I went to him and I got the surprise of my life…

"I'm s-sorry… I-it wa-wasn't me-e… h-help…" he spoke, my eyes widen at the tears that slid out of his eyes behind the bright red shade. Then a sharp pain made him screamed and logged out from the battle as the dimensional area disappear… And I realized that… the Dark Chip is not only corrupting the navis…

It's torturing their souls inside…

After that encounter, I was determined to change everything… I want to save Blues, I forgave him on all the terrible things he committed due to the Dark Chip. Rouge wasn't keen on my ideas but she soon agreed and we began planning out on how to save him. But I can't do this alone, so I went for a chat with Enzan. At first, I was interested in Blues' fighting style, then I slowly moved to a sensitive topic which causes him to shout at me... Yup, he definitely disagreed to my ideas and asked me why I don't hate him.

I told him. "It's pointless, I mean it's really pointless to hate someone when it will only hurt. Plus I forgave him… so the only way now is to rescue him."

With that and a lot of convincing, I mean a lot, he slowly agreed on trying to save Blues again… another chance. So we set up a trap, thanks to dad's help, and as we began preparing for the upcoming battle… I came across a fortune teller.

He called me and reads my fortune... He told me that I'm unique, he finds it's rare to find those qualities in a person and told me that I'm not the only one. He also told me that the road I will take will be a rough one but I'm not alone, yet I must be prepared. He then gave me a battle chip, it is called Rainbow Aves and told he to use it in this battle as a last resort.

Although I wondered how he knew about the trap, I rushed back to the base and began the operation. Laika and Searchman is with me, Rockman too… but he's with dad. As we wait, doubt is crossing on Enzan's face, I guessed he still could not forget what he did…

Then the alert went off and I cross fused with our navis upon Dark Blues arrival. But things didn't go into plan when Laika immediately shoots the improve Vaccine Chip at him too early. That was supposed to be use when he is tired! Because of that, all hell break loose and it ends up destroying half of the building, nearly burying us!

Things even went hard when Enzan cross fused with his navi, to stop him, and... we end up battling against him since he got affected by the Dark Chip.

I then remembered my new battle chip and uses it on the Darkloid, it appears to be a multi-colored shaped bird and it wrapped around him. He tried to escape by damaging it but no avail… but it did suck me into the multi-colored wrap though. There I met up with Enzan and Dark Blues and discovered how he and Blues met, then Dark Blues destroyed that memory. I got angry by it and battled against him, he winced in pain when he touch my icon… The A.R.M.O.R. system, Hikari Armor, we got from grandpa acts similarly to Rockman's PET yet different. It can absorb the darkness and then turns it into a positive energy of our own. But that wasn't enough to beat him completely when he used the same attack that killed my brother on me… I survived it but I don't think I can handle the next.

But Enzan arrived and he faces his navi, he remembered what I said to him and thanked me. He then began moving forward to Dark Blues… apologizing and promising that everything will be okay once the Dark Chip is gone. Of course, he got injured by Dark Blues attacks but it didn't matter to him. And when he reached his navi, he hugged him and I sensed something bad disappeared. The Darkloid then points us to the direction where the real Blues is as he disintegrated into dust. We then went back into the manor to find Blues on the floor, and Enzan is happy to have him back…

After that incident both of us were hospitalize, but Enzan got the most damage and is needed to stay. Both of our navis were sent to SciLab for check-up. And Laika… well, he's annoying me with no end but he was impressed on what Rouge and I did.

Since then, Enzan and Laika became my friends as Blues and Searchman to Rouge. The chip I received last time suddenly disappeared without a trace. I looked for it but found nothing, heck even the fortune teller is gone. Since then, I hang out with Enzan and Laika during the day offs and I began to think that chip bought us together… just a possible theory, folks.

And finally, the head hancho of the evil organization, Nebula, appeared. It was Dr. Regal. He is the main reason why Blues is corrupted by the Dark Chip and why my younger brother is dead. It was the final battle and I got myself punched to the roof of the SciLab. And as I came to… I saw a hologram of my brother in front of me. No, not Saito, it's Netto! I was really surprise, and then he and the other net navis gave me some strength to go full Synchro and fight against my opponent. And with it, we won the battle and Dr. Regal is gone for good. And Netto?

He disappeared before Rockman or I could get near at him.

Well, since peace is short, several enemies like Duo, Beyondard Wily, the Cyberbeast, the Professor and Cache appeared. The last time Netto appeared to help, is on the time me and Rockman are Cross Fused and fight against Cache. He gave us three strong Soul Unison to use against Cache, and then... he once more disappears from us.

Today, Rockman considered me as his sister and he didn't mind being with me. Still he remains with dad, unless I have a mission that requires two navis to operate. Yaito accepted me and we became friends, Meiru is still holding her walls against me but I'm sure that we'll become friends soon... I think...

But there is one thing I can't help to wonder… Is Netto alive...? If so, where is he? And what's with the holograms?

Whatever it is, I'm determine to find out what really happen to my brother.

* * *

Silver: Changes? Yes, more detailed story on how Sora saved Blues, Axl's story made sense and waiting for the internet to come back up… Ha ha ha… Yeah, something happened and lost the connection…. Damn phone company... And got myself stranded in my sister's condo and lent my laptop to her on her business trip to Japan… and now I'm sick because of that place is full of sick people… I dislike her place. BLOOPER TIME!

* * *

**Bloopers!**

**Domino!**

Then the alarm went off, I quickly ran to the meeting room where Signas should give out our mission, but when I opened the door…

"Whoa!" I yelped, as I bumped on Zero, then he bump on X. But that didn't stop there… nope, X bumps on Lifesaver, who then bumps on Alia, who then bumps on Signas, who then bumps on Redips, who then bumps on Massimo, who then bumps on Botos, who then bumps on Fehram, who then bumps on Scarface, who then bumps on the author, who then bumps on Laika, who then bumps on Enzan, who then bumps on Sora, who then bumps on Mariko-sensei, who then bumps on her twin sister, Yuriko, who then bumps on Meiru, who then bumps on Yaito, who then bumps on Tohru, who then bumps on Dekao and his little brother, who then bumps on the original WWW members, who then bumps on the studio crew…

Basically, it's a domino effect…

Everyone: Netto!/Axl!

Axl: I'm sorry! (runs away.)

Silver: Why am I part of this again?

* * *

**Cccrack! XD!**

While he kept throwing the attacks, I kept questioning him as I avoided his attacks and tried to hit him with any chance I can get. Then something crack… as if a glass broke or smashed…

Marino: AH! You broke my champagne pyramid! You…!

Original WWW crew: AH! We're sorry! (runs away)

Silver: … Note to self, buy soda not alcoholic drinks.

* * *

Silver: Done and here are the major changes for the story:

- Zero and Zero EXE in chapter 14, I don't like the sad ending for the other Zero.

- The ability where the reploids can disguise as humans will be removed, because it is way too early and there is still the bitter prejudice between the humans and reploids. But Netto/Axl will get this ability… in his home world, by the help of his dad and Sora.

- numbers of renegades… will increase.. XD! That's right, I'll be getting a few mavericks from each episodes.

- The moon colony will be removed… I found it too easy for humans to escape and I want to increase the prejudice a bit.

- a bit of change on Sora's, Netto's and Saito's connection.

Silver: I think that's all I'm going to change, any more changes will be inform in other chapters. Also I'll be putting up a new chapter… I know I said that I won't be updating but during my stay in my sister's condo cause me to rewrite that chapter in the notebook… so that's the only chapter I'll update and revise the rest of the story… that will be all, read and review!

(Note: I edited the battle story of Sora and Enzan against Blues... It's just a little change.)


	3. Breaking the walls

_**Connected Hearts **_

_**Breaking the walls**_

Silver: Chapter 3 revised! And not much change has it? XD! LoL, I know there's nothing much to change here, but I added a few scenes and Axl's nightmare. And changes!

- I just realized that Netto began his net battling against crime at the age of 11! Oh, the mistake! XD! So… I change Sora's age to be a year younger, that's right, she's 15 now! Wait isn't she's too young to go on a date? X3!

Silver: I hope you like it!

(Disclaimer: I do not own MM Battle Network or MMX. If I do, I'll make Marino make-out with Spider. XD)

* * *

**Breaking the walls**

X and Zero have returned from their last battle on the moon, with the blue hunter carrying Axl in his arms. Apparently, the young reploid got hit by a tentacle on the head from Lumine's battered body, before it is destroyed by a charge shot from the blue hunter. Once they left their young charge in the medic bay, the two have no idea that Axl is inside his own system… fighting against Lumine's DNA.

**:::^*^:::**

He wakes up and is surprise to find himself inside a computer like a Net Navi. He saw how all his programs works and some of them even greeted him! He was clueless on how he got inside his system or how did it happen, but he ignores it when he notices something is wrong with the area. There are white and purple spots on the blue program tiles, he can tell that it is not a good sign. So he followed the trail and not too far, he spots someone…

Lumine.

Although the lavender reploid retains his appearance in his navi form, he does not have his armor and looks more thinner.

"They think it is over... once I combine myself in his programming, I'll slowly take him over and kill those two relics. And I will create a new world!" Lumine states and chuckles evilly.

"Hey!" The redhead shouts and dashes at him. The intruder turns around and is shock to see the prototype new gen inside his own system.

'Axl?! But how?' he thought. "What are you doing here?" he demands.

"Shouldn't I be asking that question? But I won't allow you to take over my body!" The redhead snapped as he summons his guns from subspace. But the lavender intruder quickly uses a wave of power by the simple wave of his arm, flings Axl off his feet and then crashes to a cyber wall.

"Fool, you think you can stop me." he shouts, orange eyes glowed as glowing purple orbs appeared around him. With a wave of his hands, all of the orbs went flying towards Axl. He braces for impact when he felt something inside him, swiftly changing as the attacks hits him and is covered in smoke. The intruder laughs evilly for he knew that he would not survive that attack…

Or is it?

As the smoke slowly clear, a shot came out of no where and hits Lumine through his chest... right on his core program.

"What?" he shrieks in pain and covers his injured chest.

When the smoke cleared, there is a different figure standing there. It's a eleven years old boy wearing a two tone blue jumpsuit, although lacking armor, he has a weird circle like protector on his chest. With matching blue gloves and boots (his right is a buster cannon), yellow shoulder protector, a blue helmet with a shade of yellow and green on the middle, brown hair poking out of the back, matching brown eyes and a mask. The boy at first was serious, then is startled at himself and began examining himself. The mask is then removed and happiness is shown on his face.

"W-what are you? Who are you?!" the intruder demands as his body slowly dissolves into particle data.

The boy looked back to him, remembers what's going on and presumed his stance. He find it surprising that the intruder can keep his data together despite hitting his core. "I guess I could confess some few things…" he said, pointing his buster at the intruder and began charging. "I'm Axl, but before I became like this I was once a human… named Hikari Alex Netto."

On hearing that, Lumine could only stare at the boy with shock as the charge shot hits him. 'Is that why...' but his thought is never finish as his data is completely deleted.

Axl smiled a bit knowing X and Zero will be safe, but he fell on his knees as his old human-CF form disappears and is reverts back into his default form. The programs in him are scrambling to fix the problem, as he lays on the network floor. 'What the… What happened? Ugh…' Axl AKA Netto thought as the human-reploid hybrid blacks out.

But he whispers two of the most important people to him…

**:::^*^:::**

In Den Tech…

"_Sora…Rockman…"_

Rockman jerks awake upon hearing that and realizes who it is.

"Netto?" Rockman whispered, as he felt the link grew stronger by the moment but soon it disappeared. "… Netto… are you still out there?" Rockman whispered, as he stared at the empty room that was once occupied by his brother.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile in the city…

"Battle chip, Sword! Slot-in!" a girl shouts as her right arm took a form of a light blue sword. She dashes at a virus and slices it in half, while her teammates deletes some of them on their side. Then viruses came charging above them and the three avoid it, which then met it's end on the red swordsman's blade. The girl and the red swordsman does a somersault to avoid the lasers that came from the virus behind them. This trick distracted the viruses from their third teammate, who is in camouflage mode and summoned a few Satellite Rays. The Dimensional area then breaks down and disappears, and the three are back into their normal clothing. As the girl dust off the dirt on her sleeveless coat which reaches her knees, a man came and congratulates them.

"Congrats, you guys manage to finish your training in 6 minutes flat." He said, as he claps.

"Well, the enemies that you sent was too easy, Meijin." Laika scoffed. As he places his PET on his belt, so did the other boy.

"Well, at least we can learn new tricks and improve some of the old ones. After all, we can't use the same attack over and over… it's like we're teaching the virus on how to avoid and then strike back." She said, wincing on the last part and putting her PET on her customized armlet.

"Sora is right, Laika." Meijin said, as he adjusted his glasses. "Remember what her father said, that we should constantly improve and upgrade our styles in order to protect the world better. Speaking of improvements, here are your results…" He states that Sora lag a bit on one move and Enzan just missed one virus, which the brunette shoot out. Laika remains the same like his last training, which the two gives him the look as he shrugs out of awkwardness.

After discussing the results of the training and encouraging word for improvement, Sora and her friends makes their way home.

"Bye Enzan! Bye Laika!" she said, as she gives her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and then drops her skateboard on the sidewalk. She hops on it and skates all the way home.

When she reaches home "I'm back, mom!" She announced, as she removes her boots and puts on her slippers.

"Welcome home, Sora, can you tell papa that it's dinner time." Haruka calls as she sets the table.

"Sure thing, mom" Sora said, as she put on her slippers and head to her father's lab. She knocks at the door. "Dad! Dinner Time!" she said, then she saw something… or someone…

There in the living room is a man, wearing a white cloak with a hood so his face is hidden but she can see that he has a ghostly smile on his face. Sora just stands there like a statue, wondering who this man is and if he is meeting her dad. The door of the lab opens and snaps her back to reality.

"Hey Sora." Yuuichiro said, she looks at her father.

"Dad, do you have any… Huh?" Sora said, as she turns around and only saw at the empty living room.

"Have what?" Yuuichiro asked.

"Err… Nothing." Sora said, thinking it must have been her imagination. "So how's your day, dad?" she asked, changing the subject. And so after dinner, Sora helped her mom on the dishes while her father walks back to the lab. Unknown to them, the man that Sora saw earlier, is standing right in front of their house and as the car passed by, the man disappeared.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day...

Sora kept yawning in English class, since it's boring and the fact that she lived in America for 11 years. For her, there's no point to attend this class except that it is part of the curriculum.

'Dang, this class is sooooo boring!' she thought, as she plays with her house key in her pocket of her shorts. The head of the school allowed the Net Saviour to wear civilians, since there are times the viruses attack during classes. The brunette remembers how many patches her mom sewn on her uniform, after a burning battle that nearly burn her clothes off. Thus it is decided to let them wear whatever they want, to prevent their uniforms from getting mutilated and for the parents to save money from buying new uniforms after the fights.

Finally the bell rang and Sora would've jump for joy, when her PET rings. She took her PET and answers it. "Sora here." She said as she packs her stuffs in the bag.

"Sora, Dad and the Commissioner has another mission for you. Meijin-san have contacted Enzan and Laika, wait for them at the front gate." Rockman said, who appeared in a mini screen and she hears a faint 'san wa iranai.' on the speakers.

"Okay, tell them that we are on our way." Sora said, as she slings her bag and he nodded before disappearing. She is currently in middle school, as Enzan and Laika are in high school just a year or two ahead of her. But she's not alone as Tohru, Dekao, Yaito, and even Meiru are in this school... And the latter still does not like her, as she now have a different set of friends but still keeps in contact with the Gabcom's heiress. After receiving a permission from the principal to leave early, she waited by the gate for her boyfriend's limo.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile… At Maverick HQ.

A few days after the 8th Maverick uprising… Axl's damages are not that serious, and his immune system have protected him from whatever Lumine hit him with.

But... it seems there is troubling him...

**:::^**_Dream_**^:::**

Axl is running… he is running and is frantically searching for something…

Fear and terror sunk in upon seeing the mutilated bodies of the Maverick Hunters and reploids…

Once again, he runs…

Eyes widen at the sight of the broken and dead bodies of X and Zero…

But he does not stop...

He continue to run…

And then… he saw a stranger on a massacre… and he is still killing…

His family and his friends… all of their bodies littered on the floor covered in blood.

Then he heard a slash… and sees the stranger killing his brother and his sister…

He screamed.

:::^_End of Dream_^:::

The young reploid is tossing and turning in his capsule, but the nightmare wouldn't let him go. X just came in to check on him and sees him having a nightmare. "Axl? Axl! Wake up! AXL!" X said, forcing the pod open and shaking the young reploid awake… which is a mistake. The redhead jerks himself awake, his eyes wide from horror as he pants and sweat.

"Axl, calm down…" the blue hunter said carefully, the teen looks at his side and saw him. But to his horror, he is pointing his gun on his comrade's head, so he quickly puts the gun down and muttered an apology as he swipes off his sweat from his face. "Are you okay?" he asked, a little shaken from the action before.

"Y-yeah, just a really, really, REALLY bad dream, that's all." the teen said, as his gun disappears into subspace.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Axl and X became close like brothers, after the seventh Maverick uprising and accepting the young reploid as a Hunter. X would see Axl as his little brother, he doesn't know why he is overprotective on him or that they get along well. And Axl would see X as his big brother, because sometime he protects him from any harm… and those actions sometimes remind him of his digital older brother, Rockman AKA Saito.

"No, not today… I'm… I can't..." the young reploid stuttered, looking out the window and is somewhat deflated.

"… It's okay…" Not wanting to push the issue and gives the auburn teen some time to calm himself. "Oh, and Signas wants us all at the meeting room 103 in 19:00" X said and Axl nodded. And the blue hunter left the room, still a little shaken from what happened.

"X, are you okay? You look like Vile had scared the shit out of you." The red hunter said, who happened to be leaning against the wall near the medic bay's entrance.

"Y-yeah, it's n-nothing." he stuttered but Zero raises his eyebrow.

"And stuttering is nothing?" Zero asked.

"Fine… Axl point his gun at me"

"He did?" The red hunter is surprise that Axl did that.

"Well… he's having a nightmare and I have to wake him up." As he and Zero walk together thru the hallway.

"I see... Axl better gets over it, otherwise he'll get suspended and have to be check in the med bay." the blonde hunter said, as they head to their office. "And you know that kid hates being tied down." as his friend seems to agree.

Back in the room, Axl observes the stars out by the window. Star-gazing is one of his secret hobbies, and it is also a way to remind him about the fact that he is still a Hikari and belonged to another place. He sighs and jumps out of his capsule, he makes his way to Lifesaver for his check-up before heading for the training area to get back in shape.

**:::^*^:::**

Back in Den Tech…

"So our mission is to find that lab, retrieve the stolen items and shut it down their operation." Enzan said, as Sora and Laika trailed behind him and Meijin explains the situation and walks to the lab. The IPC Vice President is the leader of the three, still he considers his girlfriend as the leader from time to time.

"Yeah, they stole some government equipments from Ameroupe and China and then shipped it out of the two countries. We do not know what their motives are but an our intel told us that they found the exact location of the hideout." Meijin said, as they stop at a door which opens by itself.

"But what does this have to do with us? Can't they send a SWAT team or something?" Sora asked, as they entered the lab both Yuuichiro and Meijin were working in.

"There's a problem…" Meijin said, as the type something in the computer and shows a video surveillance of the enemy's base. The screen shows an old warehouse near the port in a freezing landscape and is surrounded by viruses that have taken physical form.

"Okay… so where is it?" Sora asked, as her father and the commissioner enters the room with Netto's PET on Yuuichiro's belt and Rockman on his shoulder.

"Apparently, it's in Sharo." Meijin said and that made Laika very angry.

"WHAT!" He bellowed, everyone except Enzan cringed.

Somehow, the enemy have push the wrong button and will get the end of Laika's and Searchman's Scope Gun on their face.

"Whoa, Laika, calm down…" the brunette said nervously as she tries to calm her teammate down. And Laika slowly did, but is still steaming in annoyance of the enemy using his precious homeland as their base. Both Sora and Rouge knows how prideful he is of his home country, to use that place for enemy hideout is asking to be a target for the sniper.

'Laika is out for a massacre…' the female navi thought and shook her head, pitying the idiots.

"So are we facing a new threat right now? But what do they want?" Enzan asked as he tries to get more information about their enemy, and letting his friend cool down a bit. Then his girlfriend spotted some Synchro Chips on the table, with some slight difference. For instance, they are silver-white than metallic blue and has red orb on it. "Hey dad, are those Synchro Chips?" she asked

"Yes, but they are a new version and they are much more improved" Yuuichiro said.

"New version?" the IPC Vice President asked.

"These chips are made from the rarest metal ever found in this world and it contains the Dimensional Generator program, this is the most improvement we made on the Cross Fusion right now. Remember, last year, our Dimensional Generator got broken and you guys have to fight the viruses without your CF form?"

"Don't remind me that again." the Sharo agent said sourly, as he remembers how he got flung by the enemy in the air and, luckily, landed in the dumpster.

"Me either." Sora agreed, as she picks one of the prototype chips and began observing it. "So these chips can help transform us into our CF form without the Dimensional Area?" she asked, looking at her father.

"Well… yes, but unfortunately they are not ready yet." Meijin said and Yuuichiro nodded.

"How come?" The commissioner asked.

"Every time one of our testers combined with their Navi, they get electrocuted, loose their sanity or worse, death." the head of the SciLab explains and she quickly drops the chip back on the table. "Just kidding on the last part, Sora." he added, which in turn his daughter snorts back at him.

So the group heads to the elevator, to take them down to the car which will bring them to the airport.

"Sora, didn't your dad told you about those chips?" Rouge asked, as Sora made a back track to the lab and picks up one of the new Synchro Chips.

"Hey, don't worry, I won't use it." Sora replied coolly as she picks the silver-white chip and pockets it before running back to the group, waiting by the elevator. "Just for emergencies." she muttered and meets up with her dad and the others.

Unknown to her, a shadowy figure smiled before disappearing out of sight.

**:::^*^:::**

At Sharo Port, a plane, car and boat ride later…

"Whoa! Okay… that's too many!" Sora said as they saw the port from their boat and saw about a thousand of viruses surrounding the area. Mostly Mets, air types and a few water types swimming around the harbor. "Thank Kami, they don't have those cannon-type navis or we'll be drowning if they do." she said and pulls out her PET.

"If there's too many, then that means those whackos are working on something big." Laika said, he too pulls out his PET from his holster.

"Wow, this is the first time I hear you say 'whacko'." Sora commented.

"And I blame you for that."

"Eh?!"

"You been infecting me with your language, so it's your fault." he point it out.

"Oh, and is it my fault that I suggested that crew cut, that I may add, Princess Pride adores from you?"

"Yes, but I'll be thanking you on that one." Laika said with a smirk, as Enzan climbs to the deck and makes his way to the two.

"Alright… everybody, get ready and hang on!" Enzan exclaims and grips on the railings behind the brunette. The two did what he said and held on, as the boat rammed thru the water type viruses and hits the frozen sands.

"Okay, let's go!" Sora said, jumping off the boat as the Dimensional area takes form around the port and the warehouse.

"Synchro Chip! Slot-in!" The three Net Saviors shouts. "CROSS FUSION!" as the light wraps around them, forming a cocoon. And when the cocoon breaks they are in their CF form, then they dash to find the hidden base and arrest the madman behind it.

But unknown to them, somebody is watching…

"That's right, find my precious weapon and it will lead you to your doom…" a dark figure said, who sat on a chair and in front of it are monitors observing the three Net Saviors. And that person laughs, knowing that it will be the end of them.

Yet, in the far side of the room… the cloaked stranger watches by…

* * *

Silver: Finally! Phew… anyway, no bloopers for today… preserving this commercial.

(The NekoMets!)

Sora: Are you tired on those kinds of cats? Who just laze around and sleep 16 hours a day? Well, worry no more! We have a new breed of cats for you! The NekoMets! (A Met with a cat ears and tail appeared and hops on Sora's arms.) You guys won't be disappointed on this kind of breed. They're cute.

(Shows Axl cuddling a NekoMet and it purrs back.)

Sora: It's helpful

(Shows a pair of NekoMets helping X on cleaning the living room.)

Sora: And they can kick butt!

(Shows Zero commanding a swarm of NekoMets to attack Vile, they did and left Vile on the ground covered with footprints. XD!)

Sora: So what are you waiting for? Go to your nearest Mechaniloid Pet shop and buy one of these adorable Mets! Also available in blue, red and green.

Commercial ends…

Silver: …Yeah, that was random… Anyway read and review! Hey Sora, gimme one of those NekoMets!


	4. The Crossing

_**Connected Hearts **_

_**The Crossing**_

Silver: Chapter 4 revised! there's very little to change in this fic like:

"Blah" – talking.

"_Blah"_ – Sora, Rockman and Axl's link, sometimes Mother talking.

"Blah" – Net Navis are speaking to their NetOps who are in CF forms

Silver: Also, while in CF form, they will be called as CF and their navi's name. But they can call one another by their real names. XD! Enjoy!

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own MM Battle Network or MMX, if I do; all the characters are gays and lesbians XD)

* * *

**The Crossing**

"Rouge chain!(1)" the cross fused form of Sora and Rouge shouts, as she threw the tip of her red blade chain to the enemies destroying a row of them, while CF Blues tries to break the door. CF Searchman shoots his enemies with his Scope Gun, CF Blues repeated hit the door with Paladin Sword but it couldn't make a dent or a scratch on it.

"Kuso…" CF Blues swears as he hits the door again and again, until CF Rouge came up with a suggestion. "Maybe the door is protected by a strong firewall…" she suggested.

CF Blues thought it was a silly idea, but CF Rouge told him to switch places with CF Searchman. So both boys switched places and they found out that she's right, there is a firewall protecting the door. 'Dang, are those nitwits are getting smarter each day?' CF Searchman thought sourly, as he scans the firewalls weakness.

It took him a moment to find the weak area and shoots it, it makes a cracking sound and breaks down. They quickly dash inside the warehouse, there are viruses blocking their way but that didn't stop them. Several Metools charges at them, only to retreat when the red swordsman uses the Wave Chip to back them off. Both shooters in the team shoots down flying viruses, which swooped down and attempted to hit them.

"Outta the way! Outta the way!(2)" She shouts as she deleted several viruses with her R-Buster on her left arm. She then back flips when a Aqua Tower nearly hits her, and uses her chain on a fish-type virus. CF Searchman is shooting some of his side, while CF Blues uses Sonic Boom on a group of jellyfish-like viruses.

They manage to move into a new area, where inside there are more viruses that attacks them on entering.

"In here!" CF Blues shouts, spotting a metallic door and he kicks it open. The two dives in and CF Blues quickly shuts the door tight, before backing off when the viruses made some dent on it.

"Well, that was eventful." CF Searchman said, somewhat sourly, as he help CF Rouge stand up.

The three looks around and finds themselves in a long, dim-lit hallway, which either be a good or a bad news for the team. Looking at one another, the Cross Fused Sharo agent takes up the front guard while the two watches their backs. They carefully make their way thru the hall, while keeping an eye behind them. It didn't take long for them to reach the end of it. They see a slightly open door and they stand beside the wall for cover. The sniper pokes his rifle in and carefully opens the door... nothing much happens. He looks at the two, who nods back at him and they swiftly enter the place with their weapons out.

Nothing...

Seeing that the room seems safe, they examine the place they're in. The room is full of computers, some cable wires, the stolen goods and a weird circular machine on a concrete wall. It looks like a portal converter like the ones they usually show in sci-fi movies or series, on the top is a rectangular shape box-like contraption. The three finally found what they are looking for, but they have no idea on what they are making with it. So CF Rouge and CF Blues are checking some computers, while CF Searchman stares at the machine as if he had a bad feeling that something worse is going to happen.

"Does anyone have an idea what this is for?" the Sharo agent asked, breaking the silence and points his thumb at the machine.

"No clue… The data in this computer is blank." the red swordsman replied, shutting the computer down.

"Same thing on the other computers" the brunette said and did the same thing.

"Do you think it's a trap?" Rouge asked, thru her and Sora's link.

Suddenly, the firewalls came out of nowhere and blocks their only way out and the machine hums to life.

"What the?" CF Blues shouts, when a strange white void formed within the circular machine. But before the three Net Saviors could even think of hacking the firewalls, the computers in the room turns itself on and a shadowy figure appeared on the screen. That person laughs evilly, as it said… "Sayonara, Net Saviours"

"Whoa!" CF Searchman yelped, and immediately holds on a pipe on the wall. The two also grabs on pipes or railings that are attached to the wall or the ceiling, as the void began to pull them in.

"We have to do something!" CF Rouge shouts frantically, as she hangs on the railing tightly. Then CF Blues saw the rectangular shape box is glowing and took a wild guess that it's the engine of the machine. "Laika! Aim for the box on that thing!" he shouts, as his other arm took form of the Variable Sword.

Unfortunately, it is every difficult to aim on the box if you are fighting against a strong vacuum that will suck you into your doom. Not to mention that every attack they throw was either hit something else or pulled into the void, instead of hitting it's target. "Darn it!" the Sharo Net Saviour cursed, when one of the computers block his shot, hitting the machine at the side.

And it got worse…

The three screamed as the void's power grew stronger and they are hanging for dear life. The navis are panicking and immediately sends out a distress signal to the SciLab but...

"Laika!" CF Rouge shouts, as her teammate lost his grip on the pipe and is sent flying towards the void. Mustering a bit of courage, she let go of the railing and flew straight to her comrade.

"Gotcha!" she said, then quickly grabs a broken metal rod and stabs it on the ceiling. "Quick, hold on to this!" He did what she said but something hit her fully on the face, causing her to lose her grip in the rod and CF Searchman.

She is pulled into the void.

"SORA!" the two boys shouts, as the engine of the machine overheats and exploded. Smoke covered the whole warehouse and the virus disappears as the Dimensional Area breaks. Soon the smoke cleared, there's a hole on the roof, the Dimensional Area is gone… and so is Sora and Rouge.

**:::^*^:::**

At SciLab…

They received a distressed signal from the Net Saviour and is about to send help when...

Yuuichiro and Rockman stood frozen in place, staring at the screen as Sora's tracking signal disappeared from it. It took them a full moment to realize that Sora is in danger or worse deleted or killed, Yuuichiro quickly flips the communicator on and tries to call his daughter.

"Sora! Can you hear me?" Yuuichiro shouts at the microphone, but all he got was the hissing sound of the radio. The sound he denies and frantically readjust the frequency. "Sora! SORA!"

And Rockman can only stand there in silence… and slowly falls to his knees.

He lost another sibling…

**:::^*^:::**

Axl is at the roof top, star-gazing again but this time a shooting star appears, streaking thru the night sky. Despite that it's very childish to wish on the shooting star, he still made a wish and clasps his hands together. 'I wish… I could see my friends and my family again, especially Saito and Sora… even if it's just once… just once.' the auburn teen thought, then the alarms went off and he runs back into the base for the mission.

**:::^*^:::**

Groaning, she shifts from her position to get comfortable and falls off the couch.

"Ow!" she yelps as she sits up from the floor. "What hit me?" wincing as she pulled the blanket off her and massages her head. Looking around, she finds herself in a rather futuristic room, with her boots and coat near the couch. At first she's a bit clueless on how she got into somebody's house, and then she tried to find her PET... only it is not with her.

"Rouge!" she calls, no answer. "Rouge! Where are you?!" as she grabs her coat and hops a bit as she puts on her boots. As she about to look for her missing partner, an old man appears from the kitchen and nearly startled her.

He may look old but his memories are still sharp for one thing. "Sora." He said casually and she is stunned. Despite meeting him a few time during the Duo incident, she still remember him despite looking… old.

"Oh my… Barrel? You're alive!?" Sora shouts in joy of reuniting with a missing friend, as she gave the elder a hug. "And old." She added. The "old" Barrel(3) chuckled at her comment. He maybe that old as a grandpa and got himself a white hair and baggy wrinkles, but he can never forget the granddaughter of Tadashi Hikari who fought with other Cross Fusion members to saved their home world from Dr. Regal and Duo.

"Sora!" a voice shouts from the kitchen and the brunette looks inside it. There, on the counter, is her PET charging on a makeshift adaptor and Rouge seems to be talking with Colonel EXE in his Progress PET. "You're up!" she cheers.

"Rouge!" As she carefully makes her way (there's an elder in the way) to her PET, and is happy to see her partner alright. "It's nice to see you too, Colonel." she added, as the said black navi nods at her in greetings.

"Are you okay?" her navi asked.

"Yeah, just a bit of a migraine though."

"Here." the elder places a cup of tea on the table as he sits down. "This will calm and soothe your pain."

She thank him as she takes her seat on a old but stable stool. Once she takes a drink to calm her nerves and the throbbing head. "Barrel, where are we?" Sora asked.

"Ah... the better question, child, how did you and your friend get here?" he turns the question back, which made the brunette look at him weirdly. "What happen to you before you got here?" he simplified.

"Well… My friends and I got a mission and went to Sharo, to retrieve some government equipment that was stolen." she recalls her last mission. "There are so many viruses on the single warehouse, but we manage to delete some of them and search the area for the said items. But it turn out... that place was a trap, so we tried to get out and…" as memory of some junk hitting her on the face and knocking her into the void. "Oh my gosh…! I GOT SUCK INTO THAT VOID!" she suddenly screamed as she stands so fast that she knock the tea all over the table.

"I see… Sora, calm down" Barrel said, placing a hand on her arm to calm her. She looks at him and breathe out before sitting down again.

"Ummm... Where are we anyway?" The brunette asked, as much as she is happy to meet the elder, she really wants to know where she is now.

Looking around, she saw a lot of things that are out of this world… For instance, the furniture looks too futuristic (even the old stool she's sitting on), there are hovercrafts or flying cars that are passing by the kitchen window like the ones shown in sci-fi shows. She stands and look out of the window, only to meet tall and massive buildings, she guessed that she is probably about a hundred feet away from normal ground. She would find this all exciting if it weren't for the smoke and the fire on one of the the top of the buildings, in the distance. Not to mention that there are people in armors that are fighting one another with lasers, and some are rescuing civilians in the burning building. 'This looks like a scene out of a bad cyber-punk movie.' she thought.

"Sora, you are in a parallel world, a different dimension." the elder explains. He thought that it's the best to tell her the truth, so she can cope on the situation clearly.

"In a what?" Sora asked, looking at him with wide eyes. 'Another world... again?' she thought.

"You mean we're like in Beyondard or something like that?" Rouge asked, her small hologram appearing out of her PET.

"I see that the PET have improved..." the veteran soldier smiled a bit, before returning back to topic. "Have you experience traveling to another world?" he asked them when he notices that the girls are not that too surprise. Both girls nodded and he finds breaching the subject is going to be a bit easy. "Yes, somewhat like that, Rouge." as he looks out of the window the girl is looking out. "What you see is a different world, far advance in machinery and it is much more chaotic than our home. Also in this world, Net Navis does not exist." Barrel explained, and both girls look at him with shock.

"Then… how did the people survive without the Net Navis?" the brunette NetOp asked.

"There are being called Reploids, they are robots who can feel emotions and can think and learn on its own. Think of them as navis in a durable bodies.'

"But aren't those sounds dangerous?" the female navi asked, remembering the movie called I Bot. It's a movie about a detective are beginning to doubt about the robots, and began to think that they will kill the human race since they will think that they are superior. Plus their past experience with the CopyBots...

"Well, yes and no." Barrel said. He began to explain the world that the two landed in, and they discover that this world has some few similarities to her own. It only takes them about a few hours for both Sora and Rouge to understand the situation, then Barrel stood up and re-entered his room to get his bag. "Here." He said, tossing out one and landed near her feet causing her to jump a bit as she removes her PET from the charger.

"What?" Sora asked, picking up the bag and began looking what's inside of it. In the bag are food, a modified PET and battle chip chargers, some disks, first aid kits and some stuff she couldn't see below.

"We need to go… we're in a dangerous part of this city, there are stray mavericks roaming around in this area." Barrel said, picking up his PET and his bag.

"Okay…" Sora said, still unsure on her new adventure. But it's better to run than to fight against those mavericks, which Barrel said, without the Dimensional area. As soon as they are out of the old apartment they were staying, they began to climb the stairs, take a train ride and rode on some elevators to get to the top part of the city. The fact the Barrel is a senior allows him and her (often mistaken as his granddaughter) to pass or to cut in line quickly.

But…

"Sora! Get down!" Barrel shouts, as he pushes her down on the ground and a stray plasma shot nearly hits them. He then got up, tells her to stay down and runs to the area to see what it is.

"Ow… take note: take dodge ball again to learn how to dodge." She said sourly as she got up, rubbing her sore spot a bit. Ignoring what Barrel told her, she follows and spots him with a pair of mavericks surrounding him.

"Alright, give us that program, old man." One of the mavericks demanded, as he points his buster at the old colonel, right on the face.

"Barrel!" Sora shouts and runs to him only to be caught as a hostage.

"Why don't we rephrase that… Give us the program now or this girl will die." The other said, as he places his beam dagger on her throat. The brunette sweats a bit as she feels the heat from it.

This cause Rouge to panic. 'Argh! I can't even save her' Rouge thought, as she tries to think of a good plan. 'Dang it, there are time I hate being a stuck in here!'

"If you let her go, I'll go with you." Barrel spoke calmly, causing the young girl to stare at him with shock as the two maverick thinks it over.

'Barrel! What are you doing?!' the brunette thought frantically as the two decides to agree on Barrel's condition. And so they threw the girl into a dumpster and drags the old man to the truck.

"Barrel!" Sora shouts, as she scrambles to get out and go after the truck. But by the time she got out of the dumpster, the truck is far from her reach and disappear behind a turn. "Dangit!" she swears as she kicks the dumpster she fell in.

"Sora!" her navi appears, trying to calm her frustrated partner and to see if she's injured. Once the brunette cools a bit and seems okay, she notices something. "Sora, why do you have two bags?"

"Huh?" confused, she looks at herself and finds Barrel bag with her. 'How?' as she remembers the stray shot and he pushed her down to evade it. "Wow, for an old timer, he still got skills." as she opens his bag and rummages thru his stuff. 'Please be with him, please be with him... darn it.' she thought.

Her pleas have not been answered, as she found Colonel EXE's PET in the bag. If the elder had held on or pocket his PET, he would have a bit of advantage by hacking.

The military navi senses somethings wrong and appears in the screen. "Sora?" he asked, wondering what's going on.

"I'm sorry, but the mavericks got him." Sora answered and the black navi is shock by this. "But don't worry, we'll get him back. We need to follow that damn truck. " She then looks around and saw a strange-looking motorcycle, or hover-bike near a bar. Ignoring the fact that she can't drive, she hops on the vehicle and wonders how to turn it on.

'Now what…' Sora thought, she is clueless on how the bike works and if she can ride this without crashing to something with this futuristic vehicle. Then an idea hits her and mentally slaps herself. 'My Navi!' she thought.

She took her PET and plugs Rouge in. "Rouge, can you start it up?" Sora asked.

"Are you sure you can drive this?" her partner asked skeptically, as she know that the brunette stinks on driving.

"We need to catch up to that truck and save Barrel, quick." she firmly stated, then the vehicle hums to life and floats a little. "Thanks" as she puts it in full throttle...

Only it gone reverse and crashes on some boxes and trash cans.

'This is going to be a long ride…' Rouge thought sourly, as her partner groans and tries her best to steer the thing to the right direction.

**:::^*^:::**

Axl heard what happened to X and Zero on their mission about the Force Metal. He then heard something about a factory(4), where the Copy Chips were once being produced there. Wanting to learn more about his body and about the person who saved him, he requested to investigate the factory from Signas. The commander of the Maverick Hunters, is a bit of having second thoughts on letting Axl go but wanting to know how the prototype New Gen was made… he allowed him.

So that night, Axl boarded the ship that is heading to a small town just outside Giga City…

And the fate… crosses their path…

* * *

Silver: It is done! Yay! References and fun facts!:

1. Rouge chain, is similar to the Chain rod that Zero uses in MMZ2. Only difference is, it is attached to her arm.

2. Axl's line… I kinda like this one, and I do not own it!

3. Yeah, Barrel is here. If you remember that he sacrifice himself and appeared on the screen in the last ep of Stream, telling that he and Duo has been travelling thru many planets? Well, let's say both of them found a portal and somehow got themselves transported in the parallel world.

4. And this is set in Command Mission, that's all you need to know.

**Fun Facts:**

When I created this fic in scratch… Sora and Rouge were not yet created. At first, the idea is on Netto becoming Axl, tries to find his way home and accidentally bought the whole Maverick Hunter gang in his home world. Then I began to think… that the only problem is solve in this story was Netto's way home, reuniting with his family and not the relationship of humans with technology. So to do that, I need a human to represent the humankind while Netto represents the Reploids and Saito represents the Net Navis. And so Sora is born… but not alone, considering Rockman will reunite with his brother, so I created Rouge as Sora's Net Navi. And the plot changes a bit and Connected Hearts is born.

Silver: Sorry, I'm in no mood for bloopers right nao… but we have a fun fact to replace it for a while, read and review minna-san.


	5. Encounter

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Encounter**_

Silver: Chapter 5 revised! Whoopee!

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own MM Battle Network or MMX, if I do I'll make X marry Alia… wait, they are the fan couple of the year… never mind XD)

* * *

**Encounter**

"Talk about far out of civilization." She said as packs up her sleeping bag and strapping her stuffs on the hover-bike. It's been two weeks since Barrel was taken by the mavericks and by far, they are not having any much luck. The brunette managed catch a glimpse of the last three numbers of the truck's plate number, but it wasn't much help as she have found three trucks with the same last numbers and the elder is not in any of them. However, to some consolation, the last two trucks contained food and water which she sneakily took a few. She also encounter some few lucky breaks like an abandon building in the middle of the dusty, gray landscape, for a change of having to camp out of the open. Also she only refueled the bike twice because she needed to recharge the two PETs.

So far, she did not made any contact with the Reploids. Despite her love on robotics, she kept her distance from them as she could not tell which is the good or the mavericks.

Sora was lucky to have the bags Barrel given her, it helped her survive in this new world. She is surprise that the elder have created a modified charger for her PET. 'Which reminds me... since when did IPC stopped making newer PET models?' she thought as she remembers the Link PET was the last model it came out. After that, for the last three years, her boyfriend's company merely released upgrades on all types of PETs.

Shrugging at that, she returns to two main problems... money and a way back home.

Money is not much of a problem, part-time jobs and a bit of "borrowing" will sustain her for the first few months. She can probably fake a few documents to be hired, and lack of it allows her to get off their radar. But the latter is the most complicated one, it will be hard to find help since the world she landed in is much more dangerous than Beyondard. While the machinery seems to be more advance in their world, it seems their programming and networks are lagging behind.

And the only advantage she and Barrel have in this world... are their Net Navis and their knowledge in computer networks.

Sora sighs as she looks around the unforgiving, black-soot wasteland and confirms one thing… She's lost.

'Damn, why didn't I download a map from the computer or something.' She thought sourly. By far, she only knows that she is on a man-made structures in the middle of the sea, with the bridges connecting to each islands. Sora then kicks the Chaser to life and miffs on the fact that she forgets to get a map. The brunette have learned how to turn the vehicle on and it's systems, but the problem is that she still hasn't learn to drive it properly. There are times she nearly hit something, or ends up throttling to some junks when she tries to park the bike. But since she and the Net Navis are in a wasteland, she is considered lucky that she is not ramming into stuffs…

CRASH!

Or maybe not…

'Damn it, I'm been driving this thing for two weeks and I haven't learn how to drive!' Sora thought, annoyed as she hops off the bike and began to remove the boxes that cushioned her crash. After digging it out of the pile, she finally notices where she is… she is looking at a strange looking factory in the wasteland, it looks a bit run down but she can hear noises in it.

"Where are we?" She asked loudly as Rouge appeared on her shoulder.

"I don't know." Rouge said, looking around the area which looks like fire have run over the landscape. 'Are we near a volcano?' she thought, as her sensors sense extreme heat beneath them and rules it out as lava. The area around them is charcoal black, saved to the soot-covered metallic building they're standing beside.

Then she spotted something familiar, not too far from them. "Hey! Is that the truck we've been looking for two weeks?" the navy blue navi asked, and Sora turns around to see the same truck that took Barrel two weeks ago.

"Hey, it is!" Her partner shouts in joy and she approaches the truck. She opens it and found nothing inside… empty, but there is one clue that tells her that Barrel was once in this truck. "Barrel's coat…" as she picked it up the light colored coat from the truck, then returns back to her bike. "He's here somewhere" packing the coat in her bag.

Once done, she walks around the factory, looking for an entrance of the place. Then she bumps on something hard, looking at it and it made her scramble away to hide behind the truck. Because there is a maverick that is standing still on that place and is somewhat guarding something. She takes a good look of what the maverick is guarding…

It's the entrance of the factory.

So she waited for it to react, but nothing…

No movement… not even a twitch.

Then Sora cautiously throws some rocks on it... Nothing.

She then approaches the huge robot and pokes it, then tries to push it, and then she rammed on it with her shoulder. The momentum causes the maverick to fall forward and reveals a sword-type cut on the back. "Whoa… whoever did this must be a close-range fighter" She uttered as she looks at the cut, before looking at the door. "And a high chance that this fighter in inside."

"Maybe, but we need to get Barrel out of there." Rouge said, as she is also looking at the door with caution. "He might be in more danger if the one who did this got to him."

The brunette nods her head and opens the door, only to yelped in surprise and run back to the truck. Strange-looking robots with huge heads and are jumping on their little feet, have seen her as an intruder and attacks her.

They hop after her as she dodges the shots. "Okay, this is nuts!" the girl yelps as she jumps behind the truck again. 'Darn it, what should I do now?' she thought frantically, as the robots continues to shoot and is now aiming for the truck she's hiding on. She cannot cross fuse since there is no Dimensional Area in this world, heck even Net Navis doesn't exist in it except for Rouge and Colonel.

As Sora kept her head down and tries to think of a solution, a silver-white chip fell out of her pocket. She notices it and gave her the risky yet only option that would save herself.

She picks it up and took her PET from the armlet. "Rouge, we have to do this." Sora said, showing the silver-white chip and she navis stared at the chip with shock.

"But that's…" Rouge protest, she is not sure if she and her NetOp can pull out this type of Cross Fusion. The new version is still not ready as it nearly killed some of the testers with it. Then a laser suddenly shot out of the truck, a little bit too near for their comfort and the brunette smells smoke.

'Oh crap, did they just?!' she thought frantically, as she looks back to her partner. "Rouge! We have no choice, we're gonna get killed if we don't!" she snapped. She turns around notices that a trail of gas is on fire and it is dangerously making it's way to the gas tank of the truck. She knew she can't run far enough to avoid the explosion, and if she does run far enough, those robots will shoot her dead.

"Right, I'm ready when you are, Sora." Rouge said, finally making the decision.

Nodding at her partner, she stands up, takes a deep breath and position herself. "Synchro Chip! Slot-in!" she shouts, as she inserts the chip into the PET. Data flies up the screen, as two halves of a hexagonal-shape merges and a bright light erupted from the PET.

"CROSS FUSION!" both Sora and Rouge shouts, as the light wraps around her and the truck exploded.

The mechaniloids thought that they have managed to finish the intruder off…

BOOM!

They're wrong.

A charge plasma shot hits one of them and exploded, then as the smoke cleared there is someone standing. It is Sora in her CF form, with some slight difference on it. First, her half-skirt grew 3 or 4 inches long, and it is in two color tones: dark blue and blue with the gold trimming on the edge. Her mask became two tones like her half skirt, only it has no gold linings. Her black jumpsuit got itself some thin, white lines running from her belt to her vest, her shoulder to her gloves and her belt to her boots. The gem on her helmet can change colors, depending on her mood… and right now its red, which means that she is not in the mood to waste time.

"You've made a big mistake." she stated, removing her mask to show her smirk.

The mechaniloids thought that the intruder is actually a reploid. So without any hesitation, they open fire at her and then stops as the dust kicked in covering their target. When the dust cleared she is gone and not a trace of her was left behind, thinking that they have defeated her. They didn't notice that CF Rouge, or Sora, have reappeared behind them and swipe their heads off in one swing with her Sword. The other enemy quickly notices her and alerts their comrades, but she is too quick and manages to finish them off in a matter of minutes with her Rouge Chain and her buster.

After the battle, she defuses from her partner and fell on the floor to regain her energy.

"Wow… I became even stronger with this new chip." The Net Saviour stated out as she takes a big breath, looking at the chip with awe.

"Yeah… but there's some data in that chip I can't identify." her navi said, reappearing on her NetOp's shoulder.

"Some unidentified data?" she asked, as she looks at Rouge.

The navy blue Net Navi nodded. "Un, it's quite heavily encrypted and it looks complicated too." she said, and shows some of it on the screen.

"Wao… Do you think that this data has something to do with the strength of my CF form?" Sora asked as she looks at the data, which seems too complicated like her partner describes.

"I think so." as the brunette looks at the factory again.

"I'm coming, Barrel." she muttered and picks up her PET. "Okay… we have to do this again, Rouge."

"But Sora! You nearly ran out of your strength and I'm not sure if we can pull it off again!" As she does not want to strain her NetOp and the fact that it is still a prototype chip.

"Oh come on, Rouge, we're only doing this to save Barrel and besides I know we can beat those scrap metals in our CF form." the girl said cheerfully and the female navi looks at her. "Don't forget that we're also doing this for Colonel too."

Rouge sighs and drops her head in her hands in signs of defeat. She knew that the new Synchro Chip is dangerous and her partner knows it too. But when there are times some baddie of the week attack or something dangerous happens, she would run into that danger just to protect and save lives. This is probably one trait she shares with her dead brother and, by the least, her older brother.

"Fine… but don't haunt me when you die." Rouge said in a teasing manner.

"Oh ha ha, very funny." she deadpans at her. But before she Cross Fuse with Rouge, she quickly makes her way back to her bike and slings on the bags. When her partner asked why they're bringing it... "I have a feeling that I don't want to leave my stuffs here." she simply replied, as she inserts the new Synchro Chip and turns into her CF form again. She runs into the factory without noticing that someone is watching her, smiling at the scene.

Sora, Rouge and Colonel didn't know that they entered a dragon's den… but they'll be fine, once they cross path.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile… in the Ulfat factory.

This factory was used to create mining mechaniloids for the Force Metals, as well as maintenance type for the cities. But when the Rebellion army took over, it is now used on making battle-type mechaniloid and weapons for war.

X and his friends are looking for Zero, as they cautiously weaved their way into the factory. Their audio receptors are on high alert just in case the alarm goes off and stops when the hallways glowed red. They slows down when the rooms they entered are filled with boxes stacked high up, a good place for enemies on ambushing them.

"I really don't like this place." the blue hunter said, as they came to a room where the boxes are stacked so high to the ceiling, it's a wall in between them and the enemies at the other side, if there are any. Enemies might even push those boxes and bury them beneath it, giving them no chance the strike back. He told his friends to stay while he checks the place with Spider and both reploids went inside, high alert and armed on the slightest noise.

"X?!" a voice rang out and both turns to see a yellow and purple reploid with a visor on, he jumps down from the stacks of boxes and X raised his buster at him. Although seeing the buster aimed at him, he never fazed and greeted his friend. "Hey X." the reploid said in a voice X knew. "Don't worry."

"Hey…" the blue hunter said as he lowers his buster, the reploid glowed and changed form into someone familiar.

"It's only me." Axl said, grinning a lot after the transformation.

"Axl." The blue reploid is quite glad to see a familiar face.

"An old comrade, it is?" Spider asked as their other allies comes in, to meet X's friend and new ally.

"Yeah, but… Axl, what are you doing here?" X asked.

"I came to Giga because I heard that my shape-changing ability might have been invented here." The New Gen Reploid, placing his hand on the orb of his chest. 'And to find out if my navi is here.' he mentally added. "I have been searching around for clues, but nothing yet."

"Yeah…" the former bounty hunter quipped, as he remembers something. "I heard they use to do a lot of research in this place, back before the rise of the Rebellion Army."

"So…" the blue hunter wonders. "They may have been working on Axl's shape-changing ability too."

"It's a very specialized area." the teen reploid stated. "But I heard of a few other reploids with the same ability as me."

"I see…" he nodded then added. "But with the Rebellion Army around, it's hard to investigate."

"Yeah." As the auburn teen shrugs. "Like I said: Not many clues around."

"By the way…" the blue hunter spoke up. "Have you seen Zero around here?"

"Zero? You mean **the** Zero?"

"Yeah." X confirmed and nodded. "We heard he was here and came looking for him."

"I haven't come across him yet," the auburn hunter answered, watching his friend's head lower in disappointment.

"I just hope he's okay." he looks a bit worried for his friend.

"I'm sure he is." Axl said cheerfully, in hopes to lighten his friend's mood up. "Don't worry, Zero wouldn't go down without a fight. Come on, I'll help you look."

And so he joins the party and continues on their way. They entered the freight room, which there is a pit of lava and the only way across is the conveyor belts. At first, they got to the door without much of a trouble. But the door is shut tight and they realized that they need to switch the direction of the belts. After changing the directions and destroying some mavericks in the way, they went to the freight lifts but…

As soon as they entered the room, they saw dead security reploids that littered the floor. The New Gen is amazed at it while Cinnamon determines that the casualties scattered around the area died from Saber-inflicted wounds. Which means Zero is here somewhere, as X examined the bodies…

"Someone's coming." Marino hisses, as she looks back at the door and took out her Beam Blade.

At first, it was something faint, then it got louder as it nears. It sounds like someone is shooting and something being destroyed. Not wanting to be attack behind, X stands at the middle of the room and charges up his buster, pointing it at the door…

**:::^*^:::**

"Take this!" CF Rouge shouts, as she releases a shot from her High Cannon, destroys a pair of mechaniloids and looks at another one which squeaks in fear and runs.

"Man… that is so annoying." She said, as she places her hands on her knees and took some breaths. The new Synchro Chip have more power and quick battle chip response, but it also consumes her energy since she is new to it. As she tries to regain her energy, the PET she strapped on waist beeps. She takes the PET out and Colonel appears on the screen.

"Sora, there are six more in the next room." Colonel stated. Before they reach this area, the brunette have Colonel download a map of the factory and he is able to point where the dangers are. "And they are stronger than the ones you fought."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" she whines, but one look at Colonel… "Darn, I'll have to use Area Steal." as she stands up, place her PET back on the holster and runs to the door. "Area Steal! Slot-in!" she said and vanishes out of sight, before she got hit by a powerful shot. The group just went 'huh?' when she disappeared without a trace.

"Where did it go?" the massive reploid asked, out of confusion.

His question is answered when a navy blue reploid reappears... right on top of the blue hunter. She lands on his head and push off to jump on the lift, but in the process of X falling forward and landing on the ground, flat on his face.

"X, are you okay" Cinnamon asked worriedly, as Axl helps his friend up and the elevator quickly went up with the navy blue reploid on it.

"Ow... yeah… what happened?" X asked, rubbing his head a bit.

"The enemy reappeared and steps on your head…" Spider answered. "And I found that to be quite funny." He added, as he snickered a bit.

"Spider, this is no time to…" he got cut off, when the group heard her shouting.

"Outta the way! Outta the way!" The navy blue reploid shouts and they heard something blew up. Ignoring her sudden outburst, the lift came down and the group quickly gets on it. By the time they reach the top, the reploid is gone and left parts of the destroyed enemies behind.

"Wow, that reploid just cleared the way for us." Marino quips cheerily, seeing that she don't have to fight anymore.

X just sighs at her comment, before he signals to enter the next room. Inside, is a wide room and there they saw the same navy blue reploid, who happens to be a girl, fighting against a Preon Soldier. Her right forearm transforms into a sword and sliced the Preon in half, and she jumps away to avoid the explosion. After that, she turns the sword off with a soft hiss and sighs.

'Oh man… There are too many of them, how am I supposed to get Barrel safe and out.' CF Rouge thought. Right now, she is the only one who can perform Cross Fusion in this world, at their current state. The brunette doubts if Barrel can still Cross Fuse, considering he is no longer in his prime and he'll get only tired fast. And she doesn't know how long she and Rouge can stay in their fuse form. This not bode her well and to add to that…

"Sora, somebody is watching us." Rouge said, and the brunette quickly turns around and sees the six reploids she escaped from the other room.

'Oh snap…' she thought sourly, taking a step back as she sees them armed.

"Are you part of the Rebellion army?" X asked with his buster pointing at her.

"Huh?" CF Rouge said, looking at the blue reploid quizzically but she quickly answer. "No, I'm looking for someone."

As the blue hunter lowers his buster, Axl notices something different about her... something familiar... 'She's a strange reploid… almost looks like a Net Navi.' he thought, he never notice the icon as X slowly and cautiously approaches her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm… Rouge." CF Rouge said, deciding that she have to hide her identity as she notices that they mistaken her CF form for a reploid.

"Sora! Do not use my name!" Rouge shouts at their link and she cringed a little, thankfully they didn't notice this. She does not know how sensible reploid hearing is, but she's not going to make a slip and decides to bear with ignoring her partner.

"And you are?" CF Rouge asked the blue reploid and his companions, as she looks at them one-by-one.

"I'm X, and these are my friends: Spider, Massimo, Marino, Cinnamon and Axl." X said, as he each points his friends. And for some reason, CF Rouge and Axl felt something when they look at one another… as if they know each other, but the two ignored it and thought that its either hunger (Axl) or homesickness (CF Rouge AKA Sora).

"Nice to meet you, I guess…" The brunette said, relaxing a bit.

"What are you doing here?" Massimo asked, as Marino began to collect items from the dead mechaniloids that the newcomer destroyed.

"I'm rescuing a friend of mine" She replied truthfully and turns to walk away. "So if you excuse me…"

"Wait!" the teenage reploid shouts and she turns to look at him. "Why don't we team up?" he asked, and X looked at him as if he grown another head.

"Huh?" she uttered, as surprise is evident on her face despite of the mask.

"We're looking for a friend too." Axl said and the blue hunter elbowed him, which in turn he elbowed him back.

"Are you sure on what you are doing?" X asked in his lowest voice.

"Of course, the more allies we make, the more we have chances to beat Epsilon easily." he whispered back.

The mistaken reploid (who's actually a human) looks at them, before she begins thinking of her decision on joining them. She could not console with her navis with it, as she have to keep them a secret. As much as possible, she wants to save Barrel, get the heck out and find their way back to their home world. Then comes across of some problems... like the mavericks rampaging in this world, the fact that reploids can turn into mavericks when they are infected by a virus, the equipments they needed to punch thru dimensions and safety. Eventually, she comes to the positive side of being in a group, albeit a reploid one. The Net Saviour then looks at them, finally deciding to take this risk.

"Fine… but after this, I'm out." CF Rouge said and she joins the party.

"Are you sure about this?" Rouge asked, wondering if it's the right choice. She felt her operator nod once as the group, unknowingly, welcomes them into the Resistance. "Wait... isn't Rebellion and Resistance sounds the same?" and she feels her partner shrugs on that.

Happy to have two new allies, they make their way to the door on their left and takes another freight lift. As they enters a wide hallway, they heard a loud crash from the other side of the door.

"What the?" The New Gen Reploid yelped in surprise. "Do you think…?"

"Yes… he's in trouble!" X stated and looks at his friends. "You guys stay here, Zero might strike at you if you come." And with that, both hunters runs off to the source… but one disobeys, as they reaches the door.

"Hey!" the two turns to see CF Rouge running towards them.

"Rouge! I didn't I told you to stay behind." the blue hunter reprimands her as she stops beside them.

"And didn't I told you that I'm looking for a friend." she points out and summons her chain blade. "Also, who told you I'll follow orders?" with a smile hidden behind the mask.

"… Sora." Rouge mutters and sighs at her headstrong operator.

In the room, a red reploid with a very long blonde hair is fighting against a bird-like maverick and is not doing well. When he is going to finish the red reploid off, he quickly blocks a pair of buster shots and a blue reploid enters the room.

"Y-You!" the bird -like maverick shrieks

"X!" Zero said with joy and then turns to the other side to see… "and… Axl?"

The auburn teen gives the blonde a light nod of the head and a smirk, encouraged by this, he stands up and resumes his stance.

"Why you!" the Maverick stated angrily, shaking his cane furiously at them.

"All the Class S Hunters." Axl said with confidence, pointing his guns at the maverick. "Are back together again. May as well just beg us for mercy!"

"Damn it." the Rebellion maverick swears then rose up into the air, but is pulled down when suddenly an energy chain blade wraps on one of his legs. The maverick turns to see a girl reploid just behind the three hunters, holding him down. "You!" he screeched and the red hunter turns to see her.

'Who's she?' he thought, as she yanks the maverick down.

"You got something important and I want it back!" she shouts.

"Let go of me! You-" the maverick summons a pillar of fire.

"Rouge! Look out!" The young hunter shouts and rushes toward her. He manages to get her out of the fire's way, but he end up tripping and both hits the wall on X's side. The chain that was holding the maverick loosen and he quickly flew into the shaft and it closes tight.

"Ow…" Both Axl and CF Rouge groans. 'How heavy is he?!' she thought, as she shoved the auburn reploid off her.

"Axl! Rouge! Are you okay?" X asked, as he jogs toward them and lends them each a hand.

"I feel like someone bulldozed me." she answered with sarcasm as she stands up. She then notices Zero is staring at her with scrutiny and sense a strong dislike aiming at her. But she is surprised on his looks, the red hunter almost look similar the other Zero back in her world. The only difference is he looks more human rather than a navi who wears a scary mask, and his attitude... probably not like him, she guessed.

X noticed this and made an introduction for the two of them, hoping that he could at least accept her. "Uh, right…Zero, this is Rouge and Rouge, this is Zero." he introduces the two.

"Um… hey." she said and sticks out her hand, trying not to gape on the fact that she probably met Zero EXE's counterpart. But the blonde just stared coldly at her, which made her cringe. 'Okay… it's like the first day of Net Saviors all over again.' she thought as she drop her hand on her side, and then everyone jumps when they heard the alarm went off.

"WARNING!" a computer voice shrilled in the room. "WARNING! ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL!. NOW INITIATING DUBOAR, REPEAT, NOW INITIATING DUBOAR. BE ADVISED THAT SOME SUBSYSTEMS MAY BE TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN IN ORDER TO SECURE INITIATION SEQUENCE ENERGY!"

"What the hell is Duboar and what's going on?" Axl asked in alert.

"Well, there's one way to find out." she said and runs out of the room, determined to get that maverick and find her friend.

"Hey! Wait up!" Axl shouts and they followed her, even the red reploid, back to the hallway. There is another door in that hallway but it's lock, now it's unlock and the brunette makes a beeline to it. Upon entering the new area, they then dash down the new hallway and enters the room.

"Watch out!" her navi warns her and CF Rouge quickly sidestepped to the right to avoid the Fire Burst attack

"Are you okay?" X asked, as he came into the room and saw how she manage to avoid the flame attack.

"Yeah, don't worry…" CF Rouge replied, then she looks at their enemy who is now just above a strange machinery. "What the heck is that?"

The maverick, named Mach Jentra, is above a large device with holes on the side and a camera sensor in the center. He laugh madly as Zero comes in lastly thru the door.

"So you've come." he said, facing them smugly.

"You won't get away this time!" Axl shouts, as he and the others points their weapons at the maverick. But the maverick laughs, rises from his perch and then commands his machine to destroy them. At the back of the machine, Preons of many types came jumping out and ready to attack. CF Rouge has no problems eliminating them due to her Rouge Chain, R-Buster and some battle chips, although she keeps it to the limit so the reploids wouldn't suspect her or wonder where she pack the arsenals. X and Axl gives covers for Zero as he tries to aim for Rebellion Army General, but he couldn't get a hit due to fact that he is too fast in the air and out of reach. The maverick then charges at X but she notices it, she uses her chain which wraps around his waist and yanks him away from being hit.

"Ow…" X winces at the rough landing. "Thanks Rouge."

"Don't mention it." she quipped and tries shooting the enemy off the air. "Darn it, any bright ideas?" she suggested, but the question is directed to her navi.

"Hold on…" Rouge said, as she scans the flying maverick, her partner gave cover fire on Axl and Zero. Once the scan is done... "Sora, he is a fire-type reploid."

'So if fire are his weapons, then I'll use water.' She thought.

"Aqua Sword! Slot-in!" CF Rouge said, as her hand and forearm transformed into a blue sword with a small water-filled container at the base. She knew that fire is weak against water, but the only problem is Mach Jentra is up in the air and he would evade. She would've use Aqua Tower or Geyser to get that maverick down, or even fly after the maverick with her jet boosters. But she have to limit herself and an idea cross her mind…

"X! Axl! Mind lending a hand here!" CF Rouge shouts, as she shoots at the maverick to give the two some cover. X and Axl look at each other before running to her side, as their red friend slices one of the Preons and then narrows his eyes at her. 'Ugh, am I in his hit list for something?' she thought as she felt the chill of his stare before he resumes getting rid of the Preons. She explains her plan to them: They will try to shoot the maverick as close to the ground, and then she'll strike him down with her sword. She shows her Aqua Sword at them and Axl recognize it a bit but he shakes it off.

'No... must a coincidence that her creator design that, like the Battle Chips back in my world.' he thought, as they agree with her plan and the two shoots at the maverick. With luck, X manages to get the maverick swoop down so low, he almost touches the ground. Taking this chance, CF Rouge quickly attacks him before he gets back up in the air.

"Take this!" She shouts, as she slashes him with the Aqua Sword on his chest and water came out of the sword. She then stabs him on the abdomen, filling it with liquid. His system began to short circuit because of the water that is filling in thru his wound, and she backs away quickly before he self destruct. However, Jentra laughs about how his destruction will trigger a few hundred frenzied Preons by the Duboar computer and then exploded himself.

His words became true, when a small army of Preon began hopping in the room and are attacking X and his friends. "Whoa! Watch yourself, Axl!" CF Rouge said, as she pushes Axl's head down to avoid being beheaded.

X and Zero are in their Hyper mode, destroying Preons left and right while Axl and CF Rouge gives then cover fire. But when they destroyed all the Preons, Duboar released another batch to kill them.

"This is crazy!" CF Rouge shouts, as she summon her blade chain and threw the tip at a row of Preons, destroying them. The hunters couldn't agree more on her when they're systems overheats and reverted back into their normal armors. The Net Saviour almost decided on Program Advance, till Axl got an idea and shoots a Copy Shot on what remains of Mach Jentra.

"It's all or nothing" he utters to himself and leaps into the air, transforming into his new Mach Jentra form. Normally, he couldn't transform into reploids beyond his size. But after the Jakob incident and Lumine's failed attempt the hijack his body, it seems the latter left him a parting gift. His Copy Chip improved, allowing him to transform into any reploids, any size and any form. He guessed that if Lumine is going to takeover his body, his Copy Chip should be complete so he can transform as he please. The only unfortunate for the maverick director... is that the prototype New Gen have human essence. That, his computer skills and the memory of being a Net Saviour, prevented Lumine from taking over and is deleted from his system.

Hovering above, he's able to convince the Duboar to halt the mechaniloid attack long enough for X, Zero and CF Rouge to destroy to the machine. After the battle, X, Zero and Axl have a temporary reunion, happy to be a team once more until CF Rouge cuts in.

"Excuse me…" CF Rouge said at Zero, the red hunter turns around to see her. "Umm… have you seen an old man with a shoulder length, white hair?" she asked.

Zero thought about it and shook his head. "Sorry but no." he said a bit coldly.

"Darn it…" she murmurs and looks away in disappointment.

"Don't worry, Rouge." she turns to look at X. "Why don't you come with us? I'm sure you'll find your friend faster with some help."

'To go with him and the others?' she thought, a bit surprise when he did offer a place for her, although she is more surprise on his appearance. Because they're in a room with better light, he looks like her older brother navi back home. Only he looks older, different and his eyes... there is a spark of dreams and hope, despite of the tragedy and guilt it holds. Once more, she thought of the pro and cons of the offer and sighs in amusement. 'Well, it's better than having to sleep in the open.' as she agrees to go with them.

"Okay, let's head back to the base, minna-san." the blue hunter said. "I got some introductions to make."

"Introductions?" Zero asked silently, as the Hunters heads out to the transporter with the Net Saviour on their tail.

* * *

Silver: Changes? Yes! So many! Thank YouTube for the recorded scenes! YESH! XD! I can die happy! … Joke on the last one, anyway… Bloopers!

* * *

**Bloopers**

**Too Heavy**

It's the entrance of the factory.

So she waited for it to react, but nothing…

No movement… not even a twitch.

Then Sora cautiously throws some rocks on it... Nothing.

She then approaches the huge robot and pokes it, then tries to push it, and then she rammed on it with her shoulder. The momentum causes the maverick to fall forward... backwards and crushing the brunette beneath it.

Rouge: SORA!

Axl: Hiiiii! Sora-neechan! (rushes to his sister.)

Silver: Cut! Can someone lessen the weight on that thing.

* * *

**FIARYA!**

She picks it up and took her PET from the armlet. "Rouge, we have to do this." Sora said, showing the silver-white chip and she navis stared at the chip with shock.

"But that's…" Rouge protest, she is not sure if she and her NetOp can pull out this type of Cross Fusion. The new version is still not ready as it nearly killed some of the testers with it. Then a laser suddenly shot out of the truck, a little bit too near for their comfort and the brunette smells smoke...

And she noticed that the set and the dressing rooms are on fire.

Laika: Somebody call 911! And quick!

Silver: Cut! CUT! (but the Preon wouldn't stop firing.)

Zero and Blues: AH! Not the hair!

X: Put it out! Put it out! Put it out! (runs around with his butt on fire.)

Sora: … (opens the gas tank, it is empty.) O…kay, you want to take a break, Rouge?

Rouge: I heard their a dinner with a good milkshake if you like.

* * *

**Slippy Head**

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" she whines, but one look at Colonel… "Darn, I'll have to use Area Steal." as she stands up, place her PET back on the holster and runs to the door. "Area Steal! Slot-in!" she said and vanishes out of sight, before she got hit by a powerful shot. The group just went 'huh?' when she disappeared without a trace.

"Where did it go?" the massive reploid asked, out of confusion.

His question is answered when a dark blue reploid reappears... right on top of the blue hunter. She landed on his head…

But suddenly she lost her footing and fell on top of the blue hunter in the process.

X: Ow…

CF Rouge: Damn… did you wax your helmet, X? Didn't Silver told you not to?

X: Yeah… and I ignored it.

Axl: That's not like you X... usually it's Zero who's the ignorant one.

Zero: (from a the hallway.) Hey! I heard that!

* * *

Silver: That's all, read and review minna-san! X3!


	6. The Trusted

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**The Trusted**_

Silver: Chapter 6 revised! YAY! :D! This haven't change:

"Blah" – Talking/thinking

"Blah" – The net Navi are talking to their NetOp while in Cross Fusion.

**"Blah" **– Speaking in English… hey! Sora grew up in America, y'know!

(Disclaimer: I do not own (since I'm actually following the anime version, not the game. But I'm adding the "brother" story of Netto and Saito in this story ) or MMX. If I do, X would be my Net Navi! YAY! XD)

* * *

**The Trusted**

Marino had led the others back to the transport when the alarms went off, warning that there was a malfunction and everyone should evacuate calmly. X, Zero, Axl and CF Rouge arrived back at base an hour later, although their new female friend have to hold her lunch and calms her nausea. 'Ugh... note to self: bring barf bags.' she thought, as she shakily keep her composure straight and pretending she's still okay.

The blue hunter then introduces his newest friends to his two fellow Hunters. However, it seems that the red hunter is clearly... not too happy with the crowd.

"You've gotta be kidding." Zero scowls, narrowing his eyes at the group, who flinches at it. "These are your friends?! They're the dregs of Giga City!" as he exits and makes his way to the Air Bus.

"Zero! Wait!" his friend calls out, running after him as the group looks at one another with concern. Spider, Massimo and Axl then went after the two, and it wasn't long till she and the girls follows them. They saw the red hunter leaving a dejected X, the boys seems to be crestfallen and the two female reploids looks at one another, sighing.

'An aloof red swordsman... why do I get a feeling I been in this kind of situation before?' the Cross Fused Net Saviour thought, as the blue hunter walks back to the Command Center to see of there are any good news. 'Oh... right... been there, done that.' remembering her encounters with a certain IPC Vice President, when she was starting out her role as the new Net Saviour back then.

The group disperse for a while and CF Rouge takes this chance to find her own place in this building.

**:::^*^:::**

"Crikey! ... Ow! Okay, talk about a lot of clutter... WHOA!"

She yelps as she falls out of the vent, landing on her back and squealing in pain. "Itai! Itai, itai, itai! Geez...!" she squeals as she immediately sits up and rubs her back, then checks her stuffs in her bag.

"Sora! Are you okay?" her Net Navi pops out of her PET, looking at her partner with concern.

"Yeah, I'm-" she stops and notices where she is. The brunette stands up, runs to the railing of the balcony and looks around with excitement.

"Sugoi!" she shouts in awe, as she saw so many things her world lack of.

After charging her PET in her hideout and is currently charging Colonel's, she decided to see where she is and avoided the group for a while. Her partner stands on her shoulder and is also amazed on how advance technology in this world. **"This is so cool!"**

"Yeah…" Rouge said and looks down too see how the reploids function below. They shop, they work on some stuffs and they interact one another like what normal humans would do. "If it weren't for the fact that we're in a alternate world, I would be even more amaze on it's advance of technology."

"True… but it's so cool." Sora said, as she looks at the ships in the sky and then looks at her partner. "So you want to go into the net or something?"

"Mmmm…" the navy blue navi thought over it and… "Yeah, I could use a break from the last time." She said.

"Hey, I did all the fighting." the brunette protested, as she took her PET off the holster.

"And who or what is used for you to perform Cross Fusion? And the fact that I decided to allow you o use my name?" she demands with her arms cross and her NetOp went silent. "I thought so."

"Shut up and get ready." her partner miffed and found a plug-in port on a computer panel near the shaft.

"Now Sora, whatever you do, please behave and do not even think about dismantling those robots." Rouge said, and Sora rolled her eyes.

"Plug-in! Rouge! Transmission!" the brunette said as the infra-red beam shoots out from the PET. "Mother." she muttered.

"I heard that!" the female navi snapped as she got sent into the system. But when she landed in the system, the place seems to be a blue empty space. A few selected areas, which she guessed as links to the terminals, are protected in an old-fashion lock protection which requires passwords to enter. The programs appearances looks like the ones they used to study in history class, back in their home world, but there are a few to them roaming around. She probably spotted a familiar but extinct virus, the one she and Blues encountered during the Duo Incident, but seems doing less harm. After that, most of the area seems to be clear, saved for the few programs that are moving around. The system is not much advance like outside, but she's on a break and didn't mind the little security of the system. She explores the area and tries to link herself in the network, but she discovers that something is blocking the way and couldn't get in. "Sora, I can't enter the net." she calls her NetOp.

"Really?" the brunette replied, as she sits down on the floor, taking out Barrel's laptop and using the PET's wireless connection to check the network. Meanwhile, her partner comes across a very huge wall, thick and tall enough to block a gigantic virus. "... You're right, I can't get anywhere except for the local sites."

"I wonder why they block this area from the world." as she is about to scan the wall.

"Sora! Rouge!" a small screen appears on the female navi's side and on the laptop, with Colonel on the screen. "You both need to return here now!"

"Eh? Why?"

"Because one of your comrade is destroyed in this very room."

"EH?!" And Rouge immediately returns to her PET, as Sora hurriedly pack everything and then climbs into the shaft.

**:::^*^:::**

The room she's hiding in, is small, by the far end of the hall and is filled with metal crates where she hid her bags behind it. Two windows and a large ventilation for her to use for sneaking out and back in as herself. It also have a pair of socket plugs for the chargers and other electronic gadgets, Barrel owned.

However, it's not much of a hiding place as the Net Saviour crawls into the scene of the crime.

"Oh flarg it…" Sora swears on the sight, as she hurriedly opens the grate. "Spider!"

And there on the floor is a torn body of one of her reploid teammates. His lower body is missing as if someone places a bomb right there and the arms are rip off, one is clinging on the few wires left. Half of his face is rip off, revealing his metal skull and his hat is crushed. Sora doubt she can fix something like this, as she is not familiar with the technologies in this world.

But she is determine to save him on the only way she knows... by turning him into a Net Navi.

"Come on, I need your help on this one." she said, as she took out the laptop and some wires. Then she unplugged the black PET from recharging mode, for extra help on retrieving the data. 'Who would do his to him?' she thought, as she plug-in both navis to transfer Spider's core program into the laptop. Then she turns her laptop on and carefully connects it to the ports in the reploid's body. It wasn't long till both navis found the core program and downloaded it into the laptop, the only difficulty is that they sometimes have to chase some lose data and bring it back to the download progress.

As they load the core program, she notices something in the reploid's system. Some people will get confuse on these data, but since she wanted to become a robotic expert she seems to understand some of it. Then she only spots some that she could understand or get the gist of it, as the more data appears on the screen.

"Oh wow..." Sora stated, as she rubs her eyes. "I think some of it gave me a migraine... but, why do I feel something is off."

Despite the fact that the world she landed in is very advance for their technology, there is something "wrong" in the programming. After completing the download, she quickly hide Spider's body in a metal box and shuts the lid. She then takes a look on Spider's core program and found out that it is capable on transforming it into a navi. However, it requires a lot of storage and some programming, she hope it exist in this world.

After hiding her items behind the boxes and making sure it is safe, she then enters her Cross fusion mode. She checks the room one last time before head to the Command Center where X and the others are.

**:::^*^:::**

"Hey Sora, Do you think the others are here too?" the navy blue navi asked, as her partner walks down the hall.

"Maybe… But I hope not." CF Rouge said.

"Why?"

"If they're here who is going to protect DenTech from virus attacks?"

"True... you know, when we get back home, you should stop using this Synchro Chip."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because it drains both of our energy faster than the first one."

Due to their first experiences with it back at the factory, the new Cross Fusion kinda drained both NetOp and the PET's energy. But in exchange is the fact that they don't need the Dimensional Area and a boost of her power and ability. And to top it off, the data that Rouge discovered from the Synchro Chip is still a mystery. But Sora guessed that it is the one that boost her ability than normal.

"... I doubt you can stop me from using it." the brunette said with a light shrug.

"I'll make you." She sounds determine on that. Despite she supports her partner, there are times she have to put on the brakes.

"And how can you stop me when you are stuck in your PET?" her partner teasingly replied.

**"I so freakin' hate you."** Rouge said sourly, as she giggled.

"Hey Rouge!" someone called, the brunette stops giggling and she turns to see Axl jogging towards her.

"Hey… Axl, right?" CF Rouge asked, as he stops beside her. 'Strange... he and his friends seems... familiar...'

"Yep!" the New Gen said cheerfully with a nod and a grin, as she snap back to reality. "Man, where did you run off? Nana found where the secret Rebellion lab is! Come on!" she nodded at that and follows him. But on turning, the human-turned-reploid finally notices the icon on her chest and helmet. 'That icon... that's my family icon!' he thought and he is about to ask her about it. '... Wait... maybe, it's a coincidence... I mean, there's no way she would know about it... could she?'

And as they walk, the silence is getting on Axl as he hesitates to ask her about the icon. "So, you're rescuing a friend of yours? How did the mavericks captured him" he asked, deciding to ask a different question and thinks that her friend might be related to the person who saved him.

'Heh, curious as a cat…' she thought and smiled, although he cannot see it because of the mask. "Well, he holds something important and it'll be dangerous if that thing fell into the wrong hand… I just hope he is still okay." She said worriedly.

"Don't worry I'm sure we'll find him… but is what he's holding that is going to be a threat to the world in some way?"

"Ummm… that is-" But she got cut off, when she saw Spider… walking thru the hallway and entering the Command Center. CF Rouge suppressed a scream, the auburn teen notices it and asked what's wrong. To cover it up, she just said that she saw a flying cockroach(1) behind him, and all of the sudden he hid behind her by fear.

'I didn't know reploids can get scared on one little thing… then again, I'm also afraid of cockroaches.' CF Rouge thought and sweat dropped, as she calm him down. After convincing him that it's just a prank, the two enters the Command Center to take on their next mission. And there she saw "Spider", leaning against the wall as Chief R briefs something about the hidden lab in Gimialla Mine.

"Sora, isn't Spider dead?" Rouge asked. "What's going on?"

'Yeah, I know… and apparently something is definitely wrong here.' CF Rouge thought, as she keeps an eye on this not-dead reploid. Once the briefing is over, she walks up to X and his friends as Nana activated the transporter, she notices X is still a bit dejected on what happened between him and his friend.

"Hey." X turns to look at her, as Marino steps into the transporter and vanish into a stream of data. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll meet him again."

X sighs. "Thanks... but I don't know if he can accept you guys." he said. "Not after..."

"After?" as Spider followed Marino to the transporter and disappeared too, she fist her hand for a second before relaxing.

"Never mind..." he pushes the topic aside and steps into the transporter, as she looks at him as he vanishes.

'X...' She thought and sighs, as she follows and carefully steps into the transporter. She feels tingly as her body is turning into data and is being transported to a new location. 'I wonder if this how the navi feels when they got plug-in into a computer or a new area?' she thought, trying not to get sick in the ride and disappears from the Command Center.

**:::^*^:::**

At the Gimialla Mine.

"Oof!" X yelped, when CF Rouge suddenly appears, jumps off the transporter and landed right on X by the back causing him to fall flat on his face again. CF Rouge felt a bit dizzy from the ride as she is still not used to it, but she quickly shakes it off and gets up.

"Whoops… Eh he he, sorry X." CF Rouge apologizes as she help X up, as the thief and the fake Spider snickers by the side. As soon as Axl, Cinnamon and Massimo appears, the group begins their journey in the mine to find the hidden lab.

"The lab's somewhere around here." Spider said as they entered a hallway to the mines, inspecting the area carefully.

"Right," X agreed silently. "I don't think the Rebellion Army would let us sneak in easily."

"Hmmm… Must be something important inside. Let's go." Spider said and everyone nodded.

**:::^*^:::**

However, within the shadows, someone was watching them from the screen.

"It's about time," he muttered as he grins evilly.

**:::^*^:::**

"Rouge, what are you doing?" Cinnamon asked, as she notice CF Rouge is meddling with a computer panel on the wall.

"Looking at the map." CF Rouge replied, as the nurse reploid seems to accept her answer and looks around the room. The brunette sighs, as Colonel turns the firewall off and quickly downloads the blueprint and the map of the mines. Once she downloaded what she needs, she made a quick check before logging Colonel out of the computer. She gives the military navi a grateful look, as he sends the blueprint and map to her PET.

"It is no problem, Sora." Colonel whispered back, as she place the black PET back on it's holster. After that, the group takes the elevator down to the first basement floor. They went to the right room and found two doors that led to rocky tunnels with large boulders blocking certain areas. Massimo could not break through nor lift the boulders, which made CF Rouge wonder why a huge reploid like him can't break it. The group then went back, takes the left door and heads to the second level.

There are a lot rooms in the second level, because of that they have to split up into two groups: X, Axl and CF Rouge on the right while Spider and the remaining team goes the other way. As they search the rooms, they found more boulders and rocks blocking the way. As they wonder on how will they get rid of the boulders…

The brunette girl sighs. 'Welp... I gotta have to keep myself a secret...' as they reaches a room not blocked by rocks.

"Yikes!" the teen reploid yelped, as he and the two entered a room where there are three bull-like mechaniloids on wheels and they looked quite angry.

"Enemy detected! Attack at once!" it shouts and charges at them.

"Hiiiiieeee!" CF Rouge shrieks as she runs around avoiding one of the Rush Loaders, as X mentioned before, while the other two like playing a game of dodge ball… a dangerous one that is.

"Guys, whatever you do…" X said as he dodges one of the Rush Loaders. "Don't des-"

BOOM!

Both hunters turns to see CF Rouge destroyed one of the Rush Loaders with her buster… and this made the other two Rush Loaders mad. The three makes a break for it and runs out of the room but CF Rouge skidded to a halt, deciding this is the right time to use her Battle Chips.

"Red Wave! Slot-in!" she shouts as slams her hand on the floor, a huge red tidal wave appears and clashed against the two Rush Loaders. Both are washed up to the back of the room and explodes.

"That was close…" CF Rouge said, placing her hand on her icon.

"Next time: Listen!" Rouge lectured her NetOp, as her partner winces as the water disappear back into the cyberworld.

"Rouge!" X calls, as he runs back into the room. "Are you-" he is cut off when he saw what happen inside. The Rush Loaders seems to exploded at the far end of the room, away from the door. He wonders what happen and when he looks at her, she shrugs.

After that, the blue hunter earns a Booster part for his dash thrusters. Axl wants it but Prof. Gaudile told him that only X can use it, because of his new armor. A few moments later, X manage to clear the rooms which the boulders kept blocking.

"Nice one, X" Marino commented, after getting treasures from the rooms which was blocked by the boulders. Then Spider found the console that will activate the elevator to go down to Basement level 3, and so he activate it and the group heads back to the elevator. After taking the lift down, the groups is about to head into the next room…

"Hold on…something's not right." the blue hunter said, as he hears a faint noise behind it.

"Yeah… I think we should go in there as small groups." CF Rouge suggested, then they heard a noise behind the room. "Dibs on going into the room!" and runs in.

"Ah! Rouge! Wait!" X shouts and runs after her.

"Erm… just wait here guys." the auburn teen said and runs after them.

Inside is a large room like the ones they enter before, but it has an occupant at the far side of it. X glare with hate upon seeing the said mechaniloid, his looks made the brunette flinch as the blue hunter points his buster at the reploid.

"You!" X snarled.

"Long time no see X," the reploid said with an evil smile, as she looks between the two.

'Well... this will end in a brawl.' as she puts her guard on.

"Shadow." X spat out. "You're gonna pay for betraying us!"

'... Now I know why Zero is so uppity on having us in the team.' she added, as she keeps her eyes on the said maverick.

"Well X." Shadow said casually. "I suppose you came here hoping to find the supra-force metal."

"Supra-force metal?" CF Rouge asked, confused on what's going on.

"You know very well." The reploid said as he lifts up his sword arm. "It's an improved form of force metal the Rebellion Army is studying to help all reploids achieve our ideal. You government lackeys can't have it!"

" 'Achieve their ideal'?" CF Rouge repeated, wondering what's going on. "But what does the supra-force metal do exactly?"

"There's no need to describe the effects." Shadow said and takes on a fighting stance. "Take me on and see for yourselves."

With that X release a shot which was evaded easily by leaning a little, he also blocks Axl's shots and then charges right on CF Rouge but she's prepared…

"Area Steal! Wide Sword! Slot-in!" CF Rouge said and vanishes before she is hit by his arm sword. She then reappeared right on top of Shadow, armed with her Wide Sword and slammed it right on his back. This stops him from attacking, but that did not give him a serious injury because she misses his vital areas by a few inches. Then Shadow grabs her by the shoulder, and tosses her to X who is about to attack him.

"Oof!" they both yelped and hit the wall.

"Rouge! X! Are you guys okay?" Axl asked, as Rouge helped X up.

"Yeah, we're fine…" X said, then he picks CF Rouge and runs from a sudden attack as the redhead manage to jump away. They began to strike back, Axl is giving both X and CF Rouge cover fire as they try to hit him. But then, Rouge senses something powerful is charging up from Shadow.

"Sora! He's charging up something, watch out for it!" Rouge said in alert. But the warning came too late, Shadow release the Pulverizer Cannon attack right at her and Axl, and they have no room to dodge. But all of the sudden, X uses his dash thrusters and blocks the attack with his own body. He yelps in pain on receiving the attack and fell on the floor.

"X!" they shouts and runs to his side to help him up. Shadow cackles about his new power because of the Supra Force Metal he installed in him. And as he comes within inches of chopping X's head for his boss, the Net Saviour is considering to go all out on this guy as she quickly blocks his way.

Then something hits hims, knocking him back...

'Wait... that's not me, did Axl shoot him?' she thought.

Then something red comes running to her front, giving the maverick a shock on seeing him. "You!" Shadow exclaimed. "You're alive?!"

"Zero!" X and Axl said cheerfully, as the brunette smiled at little at this surprise. The red hunter faces the maverick, with his saber raise up and eyes ready to kill.

"Think you can beat me so easily, Shadow." Zero spat, narrowing his eyes. "I've got a big wad of payback just for you! Time for Round Two! Let's do it, Maverick!"

"You take care of X" The Net Saviour whispered at the New Gen reploid, then she stands beside Zero and ready to assist. "Hey Zero, mind if I help?" as she stands beside the red hunter with her Rouge Chain ready.

Zero hesitated at first but ignores her, he knows that this fight is between the two Hunters and the maverick. Nevertheless, she will not take a no for an answer and readies a Battle Chip or two. 'One or two of it will do.' She thought.

And so, the red hunter is the first one to strike by charging at him. Shadow is about to strike back when he is hit from behind, causing him to lose balance and is hit by the blonde's saber in the process. As he manages to get up and avoid another saber slash, he caught a glimpse of something long... he spots the chain blade going behind him and grabs it before it hits. He then saw the source of the chain, who happens to be CF Rouge and narrows his eye at her.

'That can't be good.' she thought as she yelps when he pulls her chain, sending her flying towards him. She then quickly activates her booster, disguising it as the dash function she seen in reploids, and uses it to propel herself away from the maverick. She quickly morphs her other hand into a buster and shoots at the enemy, who blocks the shots by covering himself with his arms. Zero takes this chance and attacks Shadow, by hacking and slashing his side. Angry, he is about to charge his Pulverizer Cannon, when a powerful shot connects on his back, disrupting it. Before he could even retaliate to the shooter, he caught a glimpse of the green saber and blocks it with his blade.

'This can't be right... I'm suppose to be stronger! I have the Supra Force Metal in me!' Shadow thought in rage, as he sees the female fighter turns one of her arms into a sword. 'How did she-?!' as he quickly blocks her attack with his blade. But in the process of leaving his back open for Zero to strike. It didn't take long for the battle to end, as Zero lands the finishing blow on Shadow.

As the maverick falls forward on the floor, the blonde hunter places his saber on his back. CF Rouge checks on X, who looks happy to see his friend.

"Man, am I glad to see you!" the blue hunter said with relief and joy.

"Humph… you're too soft, X" Zero commented, as he turns around to face his blue friend.

The brunette just rolled her eyes. 'The blonde is so tight against his friends… huh?' CF Rouge thought, when she notices Shadow is still alive and is about to shoot Zero with his cannon. 'Oh shit, Zero!' she thought frantically.

When Shadow released the charge shot, CF Rouge has no time to yell a warning at Zero. So she rushes to his front, pushing him behind her and uses her Sword as a shield to prevent on receiving serious damage to herself. Upon receiving to shot, she forms her left arm into her R-Buster. As her Sword began to crack, she charge up her own shot and with full force, she threw the other charge shot to a wall. Which resulted her Sword breaking into pieces and Shadow is finally gone with CF Rouge's charge shot.

"That was close…" the Net Saviour said, as she examines her broken Sword. "Whew… at least it managed to withstand that shot, for a while." She added to herself as she turns her sword back into her hand again.

"Why…?" Zero asked, although she's not injured and managed to deflect the shot, she took the shot for him. He didn't want her or anyone's help after what happened between them and Shadow, but she, a complete stranger, just did that... for him.

"Is there something wrong on saving you?" CF Rouge asked, looking at the red hunter. "I don't see anything wrong or strange with it. X has his reason on why he get oddball friends like us, and it's not hard to see why." as she remembers her friends in her home world and smiled a bit. "That reason is why he is able to get this far, and that's the same reason why I saved you. Besides, not all people, or reploids, back-stab others every single day."

Zero was a bit baffled on her reasoning, but he hid it and just crosses his arms. "Hmph… You are also naive like him." He said, pointing at X who looks at his friend oddly, while the young Hunter signals the group that the room is clear to enter.

"So? Do I care if X and I have similar points of view?" She asked as the group files in. "Same views yet different ideas, girly-bot."

Axl tried to suppress a laugh, which failed, while X stops himself from laughing. Cinnamon just giggled, Marino turns around to hide the fact that she is laughing, Massimo have to pinch himself to stop, and Spider just smirks… And Zero is fuming and annoyed, his face color is almost the same color as his armor.

"What?" The brunette points out. "You got the Rapunzel hair, anyone would mistake you as a girl with that hair length."

'Ouch! She got you there, bud!' The New Gen Reploid snickered, as he pats his fellow Hunter in red on the shoulder. "Well... you do." only to back off when he got a glare from him.

Luckily, Zero controlled himself and let CF Rouge off the case… once. "Despite being annoying." looking at the brunette (false) reploid, as she smiles sheepishly on that. "It seems you managed to earned it."

He offers his hand as a sign of friendship, and she takes it.

**:::^*^:::**

After Zero gave his trust to her and rejoins the party, then the gang continued their journey going deeper and deeper into the mine. After collecting and returning the missing items to some worker reploids in the third level, the Basement level 4 elevator is fixed and the group heads down. The party quickly heads into another room where they found a locked, wide door with three colorful lights in the middle.

"I am a door protected by 3 guardians." the door states in a monotone voice. "No one may pass without permission."

Seeing that this door might be the entrance of the hidden base, the group looks at one another and tries to open it. First, Marino tried to pick the lock but it gave a her a shock when she sticks her tool into the panel. Second, melee combatant reploids tries to hack and slash it, but it proved to be durable. Then when they try for the third time by using X's charge shot.

"Sora." Colonel carefully calls the Net Saviour and the brunette hears him. Looking around, she spots another door and quietly enters it. Once making sure no one will here them, she takes out the black PET and the military navi appears on the screen. "The only way to unlock the door is to defeat it's guardians."

"The what?" CF Rouge asked, she also heard that the door spoke about the three guardians. "I thought it was the lights."

"Close, but the lights are just distractions. The real locks are in this hall."

"Eh?" Looking up to see the hall divided into three with a door at the end of each.

"Yeah, I can sense their presence in those doors, two of them have high readings in temperature and energy. Sora, be careful okay." Rouge said.

"Yeah…" as she place the PET back in it's protective holster and checks the place out. Looking around, she picked the door on the middle and as she proceeds to it... when she receives a warning from her partner, morphing her buster, quickly turns and points it at...

A jumpy bounty-hunter. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! It's just me!" he yelps as he jumps back in fright on seeing the barrel of the buster at him.

"Oh geez...!" the false reploid immediately puts her buster away. "Spider! I'm so sorry, I thought you're a wild mechaniloid or something."

"You really scared me! I thought you're going to shoot me!" he said with shock and fright in his voice, he place his hand on his chest as she apologizes again. Once he calms... "By the way, everyone is looking for you."

"Oh, sorry about that, but I think I got an idea about the '3 guardians of the door' thing."

"You do?"

"Yep." as she points at the three doors in the hall. "And I get the feeling that we might get into some fights here."

"... I see, 3 guardians huh? Stay here, I'll call X and the others." she nods as the bounty-hunter walks back to the others outside.

"Hey." Spider stops and looks back at CF Rouge. "How did you and the others met? Aside from me, Zero and Axl."

"Oh well... it's kinda a long story but I'll summarize it for you." he said, as he tells her about how he met X when they were taking back the resistance base, then recruiting Massimo and Nana from a prison camp and Cinnamon, Marino and Prof. Gaudile from his lab. "Then we met Axl, you and found Zero from the Ulfat Factory... Anyway, I better get the others, they must be searching high and low for you and here you are." and he left to get the others.

Unknown to him, the false reploid narrows her eyes at him. "Something is definitely off... he did not mention how we exactly met them." Rouge said, as her partner nodded in response. 'And I'm going to get to the bottom of it.' the brunette thought, as she re-examine the doors.

Meanwhile, the others have gathered back after looking for their missing friend. It seems they down have much luck, until... "Hey guys, I found Rouge and she found a way to open that door." Spider announced, as he momentary steps into the other hall where the others are.

"She did?" Marino asked, as the black reploid walks back into the room and the others follows him. There they see CF Rouge waiting for them at the middle of the hall. She then explains the behind each door is a 'guardian' which acts like the lock of the big door. "I see, so you're saying we beat the heck of those guardians and the door will open?"

The false reploid nods at that, then X splits the group into three: Zero, Axl and CF Rouge will take the middle, X, Spider and Marino will take the right side, and lastly Massimo and Cinnamon will take the left. They nod at that and split, as they are about to enter the middle room... Axl yelps as he got hit by Mega Blizzard attack right on the face.

"Axl! Are you okay?" Zero asked worriedly, as he is immediately in front of the two with his saber lit.

"Du wuri! I hien." the teenage reploid said awkwardly, as the ice froze his face but manages to avoid another attack.

'Okay, screw secret-keeping here, I need an elemental advantage on this guys!' she thought as she lands on the right side of the room. "Elec Sword! Slot-in!" CF Rouge said, as her hand and forearm are replaced by a sword through which flows electrical energy. Then she rushes to the Liquid Globs and quickly destroys it, because of the elemental advantage she got from her weapon.

Then she watches as another Glob, a electric one, being taken down by the blonde hunter with his flame-colored saber. "... Hardly a fight." he miffed as he place saber on his back, then he turns to see the girl's weapon. He eyes at it with interest, causing CF Rouge to flinch a bit and looks at him.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Cool sword." Zero commented, looking at it with impress. Aside from his Fire Saber, he bought before he went solo, he doesn't have any other elemental-based weapon. "Can I try it?"

"I'm sorry, it's attached to my arm." CF Rouge said, showing it and then Axl suddenly recognizes it as he manage to get the ice off his face.

'What the heck! That's a weapon for a Net Navi! Why didn't I recognize it before!' Axl thought, as he remembers the Aqua Sword last time at the Ulfat Factory. 'Oh my gosh! Could it... could it be... No way, no, she could be a reploid design to do those things, but why do she kept saying "Battle chip"... Oh my...' And that's when he realize that CF Rouge is really a Net Battler in Cross Fusion mode. Then he made a mental note to himself, to ask her about if she knows the guy who saved him and Rockman after the mission.

Hope lit once more in him.

**:::^*^:::**

After they destroyed the guardians, the group got together and makes their way back to the big door. The lights on it are off and the door opens as they nears, they then step into the said secret room...

Only it locks itself, splitting the group and trapping X, Zero, Spider, Axl and CF Rouge inside.

"Why do this always happen?" Rouge groaned as a tall, bright blue reploid with six floating hands appears in front of them. He introduces himself as Incentas, he is laughing haughty as he tells them that everything is a trap. The mine is not a secret lab for making the Supra Force Metal.

It's a boogey trap!

CF Rouge would have easily hacked the lock with the help of Colonel, if Incentas would've stopped using elemental attacks or his floating hands at her and her friends. "This is nuts." CF Rouge muttered, as she evaded the fireballs. 'Once again, screw secret-keeping!' she thought as she lands beside Zero.

"Slot-in! Bubble Shot!" CF Rouge said, as she summons her buster, which looks a bit like a fire hose. With aqua-element, it shoots bubbling streams of water right at the target and hits Incentas squarely. "Did I get him?" She asked.

She got an answer when Incentas uses Asura Knuckles at her, luckily she slot-in the Barrier chip before it gave her serious damage. Then it revealed that he had shift into another element: Water, which made him dance funny and throws Super Ice at them. Zero and X got hit by the freezing attack, while the auburn Hunter got Spider out of range and retaliates back by shooting. They attack once more, with Spider throwing cards with one hand as a cover fire for them. The enemy got hit, but he is immediately back on his feet and firing his hands at them.

"I heard the term "being slapped silly" but this is too weird." as she held down a wiggling hand of the maverick from hitting her. The others are not faring well with the flying fists attack, as they seem to be more annoying but deadlier than flies. Once they are recalled back, the Net Saviour throws a ZapRing but it as absorbed when the maverick shifts into a electric element, and then shot out electrical bolts. The group are considered lucky when the false reploid summons out tall, trunks from the ground (Woody Tower) as lightning rods to protect them.

"That was close… AH!" she yelps as the woods burst into flames, and saw Incentas have shift back into his Fire element mode. Once more she tries to attack him with water-based attacks, only to shift into ice again. The battle went on for quite sometime until Rouge notices the pattern.

"Sora! Incentas has a weakness… or weaknesses, that is" Rouge said. "He can change from Fire to Ice then to Thunder and then back to the beginning and repeats the whole process again."

"So in other word, go thru the flow." her partner whispered.

"Yup!" Rouge replied

"Thanks Rouge." CF Rouge whispered, mentally thankful for the noises to cover her voice.

"It's no big, but be careful." Rouge said, as her NetOp nodded and Incentas shift into his Ice element mode.

"Lightning!" CF Rouge said, and on cue a bolt of lightning come down and hits right on the maverick. It quite a lot of damage due to it's element's weakness, but he quickly shift into his Thunder element mode. She summons Hiraishin behind her when he attacks her with his own bolt. He was surprise when the lightning didn't hit her and he got a sucker punch on the face from the teen reploid.

"How's that for 'being slapped silly'!" the New Gen reploid quips, before he quickly avoids getting hit by lightning. On the way, he quickly pick CF Rouge out of the way and skids right back to Zero's side. "You okay?" he asked.

"You can put me down now." she states, as Zero nods at them and dashes towards the maverick with X. The maverick shift back into fire and cast Super Fire on them, but they evaded it and manage to hit him. As Incentas shift into his Ice element...

"Wait... Axl, can you transform into reploids with water or electric-base attacks?" CF Rouge asked the teenage reploid.

"Yeah, I can." he replied.

"Good, listen, I got an idea." She explains the plan to him and he gives her a nod to approve of it. The two waits as the enemy attacks the two hunters with his ice attacks, and by the time Incentas shifts into his Thunder element…

"Heat Dragon! Slot-in!" CF Rouge shouts, as she summons a huge flaming dragon. "See'ya!" she shouts, as Axl transform into Mach Jentra and with their fire power they defeated Incentas in one combine blast.

"All right! We did it!" the young hunter shouts in excitement, as he lands beside X and transforms back into his original form. Zero congratulate CF Rouge on a job well done, while Axl and X help Spider up since he got hit by one of those Asura Knuckles.

"By the way, where did you store all those abilities?" the red hunter asked the false reploid.

"Eh?" she uttered awkwardly as she remembers Barrel's warning about this world... Not many reploid are that versatile as the Net Navis. Unlike their network counterparts, they don't have Battle Chips to use... 'Oh yikes... I think I've overdone it!' she thought frantically.

To her luck, the trouble is not yet over…

Suddenly, Incentas rises back up again and they point their weapons at him. "Not bad... But you still have no chance." he then flies to the computer and sets the base to self-destruct in 5 minutes.

They tried destroying the door, but nothing could make a dent on it… and then…

'Damn, I have to use Program Advance for this.' the Net Saviour thought and is about to perform it...

When Spider decides to tackles Incentas before he escapes and he forces him towards the door... planning to use both himself and the maverick to blow a hole on the door. X, Axl and Zero tried to reason him on finding another way to bring the door down, but Spider told them that they are the only ones who can stop Epsilon and blows himself up with Incentas. Thes action managed to punch a hole on the door, but they lost a friend as a price…

However, for the Net Saviour and her Net Navis… the mystery of the fake Spider just have got even more mysterious, as she and her friends dashes back to the transporter and the safety of the base.

* * *

Silver: Changes? Yep some additional parts, giving Spider's part on CF Rouge in that scene and changes in the scenes… never the less, it's improved! Read and review, minna-san! References!:

1. Oh, if you watch the Japanese version of (the anime.) Netto despises cockroaches.

**Fun Fact!**

In the prototype script, Enzan and Blues are with Sora and Rouge in their journey in the other world. But I change it, since I need someone to investigate the madman who created the machine... So I let him stay behind and let Sora meet Axl early but didn't know that he's her long-lost and reborn brother... and he's slowly becoming overprotective on her. **  
**


	7. Keeping it down low

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Keeping it down low**_

Silver: Chapter 7... Revised! And I need a schedule to do these things. 0_o!

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own or MMX, if I do Enzan would've make-out with Yaito! XD)

* * *

**Keeping it down low**

After Spider's sacrifice, the group are back at the base, discussing and mourning about his death as Zero decided to join the Resistance to repay for his rudeness to X's new friends and to Spider.

But someone is missing when they are discussing about Spider's sacrifice…

**:::^*^:::**

Sora sighs as she leans on the wall, with only the sleeping bag acting as a cushion on the hard metal. After getting out of the mine, she quickly and quietly returned to her hideout, defused and recharges her PET. She is currently thinking about the fake Spider, she can't tell the others about it or lose the trust she gained from them... especially Zero, who's a special case on her list.

'Something is definitely fishy here… or my name is Spartacus… and its not.' Sora thought funnily before going all serious again. 'What does that faker want with them anyway…?'

"Sora, the PET finished charging." Rouge announced.

"Oh… right." her NetOp uttered. She unplugs her PET from recharging mode and takes out the laptop. As she checks on Spider's (the real one) core program, Colonel returns to his PET. "Hey Colonel, find anything new?"

"Yeah." the military navi replied. "The wall, Rouge encountered before, is actually a net censorship."

"A net censorship?"

"Wait, you mean I can't access the net because of a dumb ancient wall?!" the female navi stated with annoyance.

"Oh, now I remember..." The Net Saviour remembers a topic in history class, when she was in sixth grade. Her teacher explained that before the network flourished, there are several countries that were ban from accessing the net or under surveillance. Only when her grandfather's breakthrough in his research in the computer network, lifted the censorship and opens the net to the world. "If I recall, my grandmother used to tell me that the government tried to ban my grandfather once... only the wall became the testing dummy for the early Net Navis." she added.

"So we can actually make a hole on the wall?" The navy navi asked.

"I would not recommend it." Colonel stated, as he picks up a small image in his files. "Although the wall has been amplified to keep any net connections out, it didn't withstand from my blade. I checked what's beyond the wall and this is what greeted me." he then zooms the image and both girls gape on what they saw.

"You're kidding me! How many viruses are out there?!" the female navi shouts.

"Don't forget the fact that most of these viruses are 15 years extinct back in our world!" the brunette points out, as the black navi shrinks the image of what looks like a field of old viruses. "Please don't tell me I saw a herd of Trojan Horses."

"You did." the military navi stated.

"D'oh! Colonel! I was-! Ugh... Never mind." Sora sputters, as the black navi looks confuse and Rouge sighs on his bluntness. "Anyway, I don't think the group have any missions as the... 'duck' reploid-"

"It's a platypus, Sora." her Net Navi points out.

"Okay... the 'platypus' reploid boost the transmitter to contact some outside help, I think I should restock my supplies." looking at the empty cans and water bottles. "And I think I should throw out the trash too."

"Well, you're in luck." as her navi pulls out a map of the Giga City and magnifies it on a specific area. "In this main island, there's an area called the Retreat. This is where all of the human tourists would go, if they like to see this man-made island-city. However, it was shut down after the humans were banished from the island and it's been close ever since."

"I see... but why didn't you told me about this place earlier? I bet this area is the best place to hide in."

"That's because the place have been shut down and disconnected, Colonel and I had overlooked this area twice before we found it thru a webpage." as her partner begins packing up the stuffs and throwing the rubbish into plastic bags. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Don't worry, if I turn on the power and they noticed, I'll tell them that I was exploring and left it on." she said, as she picks up the laptop and checks on the core program. 'It seems to be okay but I need some space and necessary programs to turn Spider into a Net Navi.' she thought.

That's because Spider's core program nearly took the whole hard drive of Barrel's laptop. And she needs some other programs, that she hope it exist, to help on transforming him into it. She then packs the laptop in the bag and slings both of them on, then she enters her Cross Fusion form and left for the tourist area.

**:::^*^:::**

Cinnamon is walking around a new area, curious on why it is empty. Since they have no mission yet and the professor is trying to boost the transmitter, the group takes this time to momentary grief for a lost friend. Some would dwell over it, while others decided to train to get over it and to avenge their friend. But the nurse reploid decided to explore to distract herself.

As she is about to chose a direction, she caught a glimpse of navy blue running down the hall. "Huh?" she utters and goes after it. She once more caught a glimpse of the said blue blur and follows it, till she reaches into an area with a long, glass-covered bridge. There she finally sees who it is... "Hey, it's Rouge... I wonder where she's going?" she said to herself and continues to follow her.

Clueless on being followed, the Net Saviour continues on her way to the said tourist area. She enters a few more doors and taking one last turn, she skids to a stop in front of wooden double doors. "Well... a stark contrast between homey and machinery." she quips and plugs Colonel in to hack the door.

But it wasn't much needed as the programs in the lock are happy to have a new visitor and opens the doors for her. "Oh wow..." she said in awe, as she sees the wide, spacious lobby of the area. Due to the fact that it is unused, a thin layer of dust have settled everywhere with some papers scattered on the floor. Also the dome of the area is glass, which allows to use natural sunlight to lit the lobby. There are also some plant life but it seems they wilted, due to the lack of gardening. Shops are align on the first and second floors, all of them are closed since the takeover. On the third and top-most floors are the hotel and the recreational areas which are also shut tight, an elevator and escalator which hadn't been used due to the layer of dust on it.

"... This place needs cleaning." Rouge commented, on seeing the said human tourist area. "Are you sure you're going to hide here?"

"Well... it's better than that small room with the metal crates in it." her NetOp replied, as she plug Colonel out. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to use the entire facilities."

What the Net Saviour doesn't know is that a certain young, nurse reploid is quietly following her and wondering who she's speaking to. And it didn't take long to find out her friend's secret.

"Right." she states and her body glows. Cinnamon watches in surprise as her armor breaks apart and gathers together, then the glowing suit follows and merges with the parts. It forms a small navy blue and black device, which is caught by... a hand of a human, brunette girl.

As she place her PET on her shoulder holster... "Sora, someone saw us." Colonel alerts her and she quickly turns around to see Cinnamon, who is just outside of the door, staring back at her with wide eyes and mouth open like a fish.

'Oh shit, I'm busted.' She thought, as she approaches the very shock nurse reploid. "Uh... Calm down?" Sora asked awkwardly.

"I- You- A human- Who- " Cinnamon stuttered weakly, as the brunette tries to calm her.

'Oh boy... this is really awkward...' The brunette thought, as she carefully tells her that she'll explain what's going on and urges the nurse reploid inside the area. 'Well, I can tell her about the Net Navis and the Cross Fusion... but that's it.' as she makes sure no one else is out there, before closing the doors.

**:::^*^:::**

After shooting practice... he decided to look for the said Net Battler.

'Okay... if I were a human Net Battler... where would I be?' he thought, as he scans the map of Giga City that is shown in one of the lobbies. Looking at the details, he spots a possible area the Net Battler would go. Noting where it is, he then makes way to the said area.

**:::^*^:::**

An hour pass...

"So you're actually a human."

"Yeah, sorry for keeping it a secret." as Rouge appeared on her shoulder.

"And these two are called Net Navis."

"That's right." Rouge said as Colonel appears on his PET screen.

"But how can you and your computer friends did that? The Cross Fusing thing?" Cinnamon asked, as Rouge and Colonel gives her an annoyed look. From what the brunette explained, the Net Navis were created as a counter measure for viruses. They are similar to reploids in some ways with only one difference, they are contained in computers or PETs which is short for Personal Terminals. However, there are others who have hidden agendas or wanted to use the Net Navis for evil, stirred trouble back in the girl's hometown. The reason why such incidents was never heard of, is because they hacked into the government facilities and covers the incident about it.

'Aye... calm down, alternate world... alternate world.' the navy navi thought as her partner explains about the Cross Fusion.

"Okay, it's around the time when they were experimenting on materializing the cyberworld. Also at that time, another scientist is testing the Synchro Chip and the Cross Fusion. The experiment gone wrong, when the virus took advantage of it and materialized into our world. They went on a rampage and destroyed the lab, before going out into town. And that's when I came in..." Sora said, showing the silver-white chip. "I was in the lab in that happened and I stumbled on this as I run. This allows me and Rouge to fuse together and to fight those viruses."

"I see!"

"Eventually, the mavericks found out about the Net Navis and attacked our home town." Rouge added. "My friends and I were on the run because of the Cross Fusion and the Vytae Program."

"Vytae Program?" Cinnamon asked

"To be honest with you, I don't know what it is… Heck, even the person who's I've been searching for doesn't know anything about it." Sora said with a shrug.

She then looks away as the nurse reploid process the whole thing, as she is actually lying to Cinnamon to hide the fact that she is from another world. If that fact came into the open, it's going to be like what happened between her home and Beyondard.

Meanwhile, they did not notice something moved and hid behind the structure behind them

"Oh…" as the nurse reploid looks back at her. "But why are you helping us?"

"Excuse me?" The brunette asked, also looking back at her.

"I mean, every human are afraid of us since we…" But Cinnamon slowed a bit on the last part.

"Oh… that." remembering what Barrel told her about this world and the reploids. However, after a short time with them, her opinions changed and sees the positive side of their kind. "Well, you guys can kill humans in one clean sweep and are practically killing machines to each other… But if you get to know that reploid, you'll see that thing is like another human. Quite like the Net Navis… I mean, sure you guys are program to feel emotion like humans, but you guys just broke out of your programming. Look at Rouge here, she was program to be a supporting navi but then when I got myself into trouble she acts like a mother hen on me!"

"Hey! I promised that I would take good care of you!" Rouge countered, while Colonel who hadn't spoke the entire time, watches the two bicker and Cinnamon just giggled on the two.

"Anyway… That's pretty much it." the brunette stated, as she removes her bag and place them on the couch.

"But what happened to your family or your friends?" Cinnamon asked.

"... Well... After that incident, I was forced to flee from home with some other NetOps like me. But we got separated after an encounter with some mavericks."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay... you know, I have a brother and he dreamed of a world where everybody can live together in peace. It seems he was the first one to see reploids in a positive light... and he was right." the brunette said, as she remembers her two brothers constantly protecting that bond between human and navis before she and Rouge took their place. She added the reploids as a cover.

"Sora..." Cinnamon said, remembering a similar dream someone told her about. "X said something similar to your brother. He said that he want the world to be a place where humans and reploids can live together in peace."

'Wow, he and her brother have the same point of view… except the reploids and the Net Navis.' Rouge thought, as she looks at her partner.

"Oh!" she place her hand on her head and hushes her new human friend to be quiet. "Yes Nana? ... Oh me and Rouge are just exploring, that's all. Okay... we'll see you there soon." then she removes her hand and looks back at the brunette. "We have to go to the Command Center, they just found out the source of the jamming." Cinnamon said.

"Right... oh and Cinnamon, thank you." Sora said, the nurse reploid smiled and feels happy on being thank at. Once she quickly enters her Cross Fusion and strapping on Colonel's PET, she and Cinnamon then rushes to the Command room.

Unknown to them, a certain auburn-head hunter walks out of his hiding and is nearly shock beyond words.

'Sora. Is. Here.' Axl (AKA Netto) thought, he couldn't form a word and his mind still whirling like a twister. He never thought it was possible, he thought that she was merely related to the person who saved him and uses his family symbol as a signal. But here she is... his sister is here in this world and somehow is able to Cross Fuse without a Dimensional Area. He backs on the wall and slides down on the floor, as his emotion was going haywire... he wasn't sure whether he should cry or laugh or scream. His wish is granted and he got to meet her in person!

'…But what if she doesn't believe that I'm her brother, Netto?' he thought, as he raise his knees to his chest. 'Will she accept me as her brother, even though I'm like this? Wait, is Rockman with her? Will he too believe me?' Then the New Gen shakes his head to get rid of negative thoughts that came pouring into his mind, and decided to conceal his identity until it is the right time.

Axl then heads to the Command room for the mission... with a small smile on this face and a promise to protect his sister.

**:::^*^:::**

Nana have traced the source of the jamming signal, in a place called the Vanallia Desert. But they say that place is a death trap, the place is fill with quicksand and sand storms thus quite a effective hiding place for mavericks. Still they opt to head there and destroy the jammers to contact Colonel Redips.

'Redips...?' CF Rouge thought. 'Odd... what a weird name.'

"The transporter's destination is set for the Vanallia Desert." Nana reports, as she types in the last code to the said location. "The area was originally a dome-shaped plate designed to test the specifications of mechaniloids and reploids, by placing them in various environmental conditions. However, the environment control device went berserk and it turned into a desert with constant sandstorms. Be cautious on where you trek, as this place have many quicksands. There are signal jammers set up on the surface of the Vanallia Desert. If you follow the direction of the cables extending from the jammers, they should lead you to the enemy facility. The closer the jammers are to the enemy facility, the higher the energy charge. Use that to narrow down the location. Good luck everybody!"

The groups nods and one by one, warps to the said location.

The first thing the Net Savior meet at the moment of arrival, is the wind and the sand. She thank the fact that she got her face mask on, but she regretted on not having a protective visor, like Blues does. 'Note to self: Add glasses on Rouge's features if she wants it.' she thought as she raise her arms to cover her eyes.

"So this is the device Nana was talking about." Zero said, CF Rouge turns to see the tall jammer and the cables that are barely visible due to the current sandstorm. "She said to follow the cables, visibility is terrible in this sandstorm. Proceed with extreme caution everyone."

Everyone nodded and they trek into the stormy desert, checking each jammers they found and then follows the cable. The storm didn't stop and the two female reploids used Massimo's huge body as a shield, while Axl volunteered to cover CF Rouge. When they found a huge sand hill, they took cover there to get a bit of rest from the strong wind. When the wind loose some of it's strength for a moment, X, Massimo and Zero head out to search for the facility's entrance while the group stays behind.

However… CF Rouge senses something is wrong and spots a speedy silhouette in the air. "Guys, stay here, I'm going after them." she said and runs into the storm despite the screams and shouts from her teammates.

**:::^*^:::**

X's group found the entrance of the facility but it is lock, which opts them to look for some way to open it. They look around the area from the facility, when suddenly they hear something flying towards them. X is hit on the back, as Zero and Massimo set themselves on defense mode...

And the two Hunters are not happy on who they saw.

"You've come far boys." the dark pink female maverick said huskily, as she floats a few feet from them. "But I, Ferham, am here to make sure you don't make it a step further."

"Then we'll just have to go through you." Zero said, taking a step forward and grabs his Z-Saber.

"Oh." Ferham said, smiling. "You're a brave one, I like that. But..."

X yelped and the two discovers their friends is sliding backwards, sinking into a large quicksand pit behind them.

"X!" Massimo shouts and rushes to aid the blue hunter, who struggles to get out. The huge reploid grabs his friend's arm but due to his heavy weight, he too found himself slipping in.

"Massimo! X!" Zero shouts, rushing to them and grabs on Massimo's hand.

"Oh goodness! The sand already got you?" she asked, faking her surprise.

"Oh no." Massimo squeaks as the sand buried X up to his shoulder, while the bulky reploid is almost up to his chest and Zero struggling to pull them back. Ferham is laughing ay all this, as she landed on the ground.

"Keep trying boys." she said, taking out her electric whip and cracking it, with her other hand on hip. "But it's no use, I'm afraid." She chuckles as she strikes Zero by the back, making the red hunter cry in pain and go all stiff as the shock races thru his body. But despite the intense pain, he still held strong and tries to pull them back.

"What's wrong kid." the Cadre laughs, as she whips at red hunter's back. "I thought you said you wanted to fight!"

"Zero!" X shouts "Let go! Save yourself!"

"Do it, Zero." Massimo said, "Defeat her, even if you have to do it alone."

"Now…" Ferham said, as she stops striking his back and tempts Zero to come to her. "Listen to your pals. Forget about them and come over and see me. Come on, Zero. I know you want to beat me."

'Ew… what is she? ... Okay, I forgot, I think it's some-trix or whatever.' a thought runs into a newcomer, hovering a few feet from them. 'Gotta help them… let's see… what chip…?'

"Don't you worry." Zero called over his shoulder. "I'll beat you soon enough as soon as I save them."

"Zero!" Massimo yelled as the blonde hunter struggles to pull them back, despite his back is in extreme pain. "Let go-"

"Shut up!" he yelled at him. "I won't stand by and watch another friend go down!"

"Well…" she said with disappointment. "You're no fun. I guess this is goodbye, this is the end."

"Hey! No bullying!" a new female voice shouts, then Ferham finds herself being ram by a solid, hard metal piece and a dark figure lands just a few inches from the red hunter. "You guys-" she notices the situation. "Okay, let me rephrase that. Need a hand?"

"Rouge!" They shouts in relief to see her, as dark pink maverick recovers from that hit.

"As much I like playing around, I dislike being interfered." the dark pink maverick states and cracks her whip.

"How long can you hold, Zero?" CF Rouge asked, as she turns and covers the red hunter's back from the enemy.

"Not for long." Zero replied, he struggles to keep his footing away from the pit's edge as he pulls Massimo and X out of it.

"Just hold on a bit longer and this will take a moment." the Net Saviour said as activates her jet boosters on her boots and charges her buster. Surprise is etch on Ferham's face, when she sees the navy blue (false) reploid can also fly. The brunette then charges on the dark pink maverick and released a charge shot, but the opponent evades it and whips back at her.

When…

"AH!" Ferham yelps when suddenly a huge wood came in front of her just a few centimeters from her face. Then CF Rouge uses Area Steal and MegaGuts Punch, which she punches the Cadre thru the wood from behind. Annoyed, the dark pink maverick quickly regains air and attacks… but…

"Boomerang, Slot-In!" The net Saviour said, and the female maverick yelps as she got hit by the boomerang and she disappears into the sandstorm. After making sure that the maverick is gone, she then flew back to where X and the others are. But the storm begins to grow strong and the visibility begins to drop. Upon arriving above the quicksand, she summons her chain and lowers it to the bits of blue she sees.

"Quick, grab on, X!" she called out and then she felt a pull. "Okay! Massimo, let go! I got him!" She then powers up her boosters and begins pulling the blue hunter out of the quicksand, as the blonde hunter pulls the huge reploid out. It proved to be difficult because of the storm and the reploid's weight, but she competes with the both of them. Soon she manages to lift X out of the pit while Zero manages to drag Massimo out.

Once she lands the blue hunter on a safe ground.

"Thanks Rouge." X said, as he let go of the chain.

"Yeah, thanks for saving our friends." Zero said, as he looks at her gratefully.

"Not a problem." CF Rouge said, still in the air.

"I'm actually surprise you can fly with only your dash thrusters." the blue hunter said, as the other two seems to agree with him. "Plus those attacks of yours..." looking back at the tree trunk she summon out from the ground, only to find it gone. "Where...?" he utter, wondering where it go.

'Oh... the yikes, I overdone it again!' She thought, before she yelps and fell out of the air when a pink, electrical whip nearly hits her and the next thing she knew… all she sees is sand and several screams of her partner's name.

Her partner and her friend's navi, on the other hand, are screaming her name.

**:::^*^:::**

"Sora! SORA!" voices screams.

Sora woke up and then slowly sits up, wincing a bit.

"Sora! Sora!" the voices calls, the brunette turn to see the PETs and picks them up. Rouge appears out of her PET, looks at her NetOp worriedly and checks if she's okay. Colonel appears in the screen, he too is worried for the brunette.

"Are you alright?" Colonel asked.

"I'll live… ugh..." Sora said as she coughs a bit. "Where are we?" she asked.

"I think we're in a underground facility, it could be the Rebellion's." Rouge said, looking at the place. It's a dark room with a pair of doors and has a large hole on the roof above. She then looks at her partner, as she picks her Synchro Chip just beside her. "Come on, we need to cross fuse and find the others quick."

"Right…" Sora said and stands up, then looks at the hole. "Well... I know the reason why there a lot of quicksands. But first, let's do a bit of hacking."

"You just want to fix that berserk device, ne Sora?" as her PET is placed on her shoulder holster.

"Well yeah... and to get the security off our friends."

"Are you sure?" the black, military navi asked, as the brunette straps his PET on her belt. "We're in enemy territory."

"Yeah... but I'll be careful." as she dust her coat. "Man, after this, I have to find a way to wash my clothes." as Rouge stares at her NetOp, as she crosses her arms and giving her a look. "Rouge... Don't give me that look. And fine, you handle the laundry." she miffs as Colonel seems confused between the two. Then she goes out of the room, only to quickly retreat and takes cover from a dinosaur-like mechaniloid and a pair of bat ones. "Don't say a word." she grounds it out on the two navis as she slot-in her Synchro Chip and Cross Fuse once more.

After getting rid of the mechaniloids, she then runs out to look for a computer room.

**:::^*^:::**

After CF Rouge's end by the quicksand, X, Zero and Massimo regroup with the others and told them about their friend's unfortunate passing. Zero swore avenge for her, owing another friend for saving their lives. Cinnamon looks like she's about to cry and silently prays that her first human friend is still alive.

Axl, on the other hand, couldn't believe it but hides it from them. 'I finally meet her, but she...' he thought and grief internally as they trudge on to the facility they found. Marino uses her tools and thief skills to open the door, when it opens they enters the place and begin their search to deactivate the jammer.

But they did not expect this... the security is pretty much low and the doors are unlocked. This left them suspicious and wondering whether it is a trap or luck is on their side. They then see some Preons doing some weird dance, as an angry voices shouting at them to cease the dancing and to get back to work and the fact that he is their master. When they stop, they expect an attack... instead, the Preons attacks the stray mechaniloids and unintentionally clears the way for them.

They wondered what's going on, guessing that the security system have a glitch or something like that. Then the New Gen Reploid realizes that his sister is still alive, and this glitch is actually her and her navi's work. 'Sora... you owe us an apology, big time!' he thought, as he hides his grin and shoots down a mechaniloid the Preons missed. After exploring the place, it seems safe except for a few security and they manage to disable the jammer.

"Looks like they did it… plug me out." he called but before that…

"Nyah hah, hah, hah." an annoying voice spouted from the speakers, which made the group jump in surprise. "You've really done it this time! Very well...let me show you to the top floor. Take the central elevator. I'll have a warm welcome waiting for you when you arrive! Nyaaah hah, hah, hah, hah!"

"That must be the boss for this area," Axl guessed. "Let's go get him, X!"

"Yeah, let's get him for Rouge." Massimo said and Zero agreed to that.

When the group left, Sora came out from the ventilation shaft and looks around. "You know, I don't know who's sounds much more annoying… that guy or Bubbleman."

"Same here... Anyway, let's Cross Fuse and catch up with the others." Rouge suggested as her partner utters 'right' and logs both navis out.

After a failed search for information about Barrel's whereabouts, she Cross Fuse with her navi and heads to the floor where the party are at. She did find them… in a middle of a battle with a fat, green reploid and dodges a stray shot. 'Phew… that was close.' she thought, then she heard a horrendous song and it somehow gave damages to her friends, even to herself. 'What the heck was that- Oh no! Cinnamon!'

When the fat maverick is about to slap the nurse reploid…

"Discord! Slot-In!" the Net Saviour shouts.

A blue trumpet, standing on a red orb and has a headphone on it's head appears in front of the group. It then began playing a song and the next thing the fat maverick knew, his surrounding became warped in his view. His vision began to spin and he is so confuse on who to hit, till he hit something which happens to be one of his Bits. The group wondered where the trumpet mechaniloid, they didn't know it's a virus, till it vanish and…

"Your song is horrible! The Tuby did better!" CF Rouge shouts at the fat maverick and the group turns to see her again.

Axl grins at her reappearance and couldn't help on giving her a hug. "You're alive!" he exclaims with glee, as the others surrounds her. Zero seems angry at her but relief to find her alive, X felt a bit lighter like a small burden is lifted, Cinnamon is happy, Marino seems glad that she's back and Massimo is near tears to the fact that she's not dead.

"But how-?" X question got cut off.

"There is a hole on the roof where the quicksand is." The Net Saviour explains. "So… yeah, I got lucky."

"But why didn't you contact us?" Cinnamon asked.

"I took the advantage of being MIA, and hack this fatso's security system." she states as she points at fat maverick. "Who do you think made the Preons dance a little while back there?"

"YOU!" the fat maverick, known as Botos, shouts in anger and points at the navy blue (false) reploid. "You're the one who's been hacking my security system!"

"I'm not denying that." CF Rouge said and summons her buster with a glint in her eyes. "And since that damn lady is not here… hello misplaced aggression." She seems to emit a dangerous aura, or an energy spike in reploid term. Axl and Cinnamon seems to back away on hearing her voice... she sounds pissed.

"Rouge, calm down-" but the blue hunter gets cut off, when she suddenly disappear from sight and reappears on top of the Cadre with her Aqua Blade armed. She then strikes on the maverick's shoulder, cutting a bit of metal and wire underneath but couldn't cut the shoulder and arm off. She then jumps away from the fat maverick and skids back a few feet before calling her chain blade out and wrapping it around the maverick's waist. Soon, the poor Cadre found himself being thrown around in the room three times, before he is pulled towards her and receives a punch on the face by a golden fist. The chain blade releases it's victim as the punch connects, and she sent him flying to the ceiling.

The group gapes on seeing the harsh beating the Cadre received, as X and Zero watches it with wide eyes, wondering where she got such arsenals. Axl, while he takes note to never to get on with her bad side, is impressed on her operating skills and hers is probably better than his... or is it because he have gone four years, not being able to Net Battle at all. 'Man... I'm out of practice...' he thought as he sees his sister walking towards them. 'If I get the guts to tell her who I am, I could also ask if I could borrow Rouge to practice operating again.'

"Done." she simply said and stands beside the auburn hunter, as the others look at her. A moment later... "Are you guys going to do something about that fatty or not?"

Then they hear something pops out and lands in front of X, who picks it up and recognizes what it is. CF Rouge sense a strong energy from the piece, as Botos crawls to get it. She and Zero blocks his way, threaten him and because of that he escaped. After shutting the device, Professor Gaudile contacts them and is happy to learn that they got a piece of the Supra-Force Metal.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving back at the base…

"Pwee… man, I hate the desert." CF Rouge commented as she hops off the teleporter and dust off the sand on her shoulders and skirt. She then led some Preons, which were doing the Macarena earlier, to Gaudile to be reprogram and added to the Deployment Center. The Net Savior insist X that this group of Preons are okay to take back to the base, since she hacked into their system. At first, he and the red hunter are skeptical about it, till they find them obedient and they agreed.

The two Hunter are about to ask about the ability she have, only she disappears once more.

But this time Cinnamon is with her. Upon arriving in the tourist spot, Sora and Rouge defuses and begins hacking the locks of each shops and the hotel. The nurse reploid follows her as she unlocks the first shop, a clothes shop, while talking with her. Their topic is mostly about Giga City, about it's island, it's structure and the places they want to visit. Despite the nurse reploid was home-bound in her creator's lab in the woods before X and the Resistance came, she knows some detailed notes about the city.

"Wait... you mean, this island is built to mine a meteor? In this friggin' ocean?" the brunette asked, as she changes into a simple white and blue shirt, and blue jeans. She pulls her boots back on as she dumps her clothes in a basket.

"That's right." Cinnamon quips, as the brunette came out of the changing room and set the basket near the sofa the blonde is sitting on. "A meteor landed in the Pacific Ocean, a few years ago. It contained the mysterious mineral that does not exist on Earth and which has the power to strengthen us and amplify our intellect-pulses: The Force Metal."

"Force Metal?" as she walks to the racks and looks for some clothes she can use.

"You don't know what it is?"

"Uh no..." she said truthfully, as she pick out clothes that are still good. "We don't get much news while being on the road."

"I see, then I'll explain it for you." Cinnamon replied cheerily as the brunette decides to pause for a moment and listen to her friend. "This is what a Force Metal looks like." as she takes out a piece of the said metal from her chest, where her Force Metal Generator is. "This is can alter the abilities of Reploids who use it, such as increased stats, resistance to certain elements and negative statuses, and the list goes on."

She gives her a sample of the Force Metal, as the Net Saviour asked if the said mineral are like steroids, only to reploids. The brunette takes a good look at it, it reminds her of the walls of the Dimensional Area. As they both compare the metal to the drugs, they continue opening shops. The second shop is a fast-food restaurant, but it seems that the breads have molds on it and strangely... the uncooked fries in a fryer are growing plants. Cringing at this, they move to the next shop that is a hardware store. They gather the lamps and the flashlights, as she will be only using the generator in the hotel and the fact that the brunette is the only one using this area. Once they gather enough, they temporary place them aside and opens another shop... a computer shop.

'Just what Spider needs.' she thought, as she enters the shop and began looking for the said items. But then she comes across another problem... the entire shop is almost empty, save for the discs, accessories and a few computers which seems to be either second hand or in repairs. 'Great... I found a wonderful shop of computers and it's been raided.' she thought sourly.

"Is there something wrong?" Cinnamon asked, as she walks to her side.

"Oh... Cinnamon, do you know any other computer shops in this city?"

"Hmmm... I don't know, but the prof said you can find many kinds of computers in the shops below the base."

"Where the reploids are...?" and the blonde nurse nodded as she sighs. 'Well, at least that's one problem solved... now where is that dang laundry shop...?'

After opening two more shop, to her luck found the laundry shop but she let Rouge handle the laundry. Soon, the sun is setting and both she and Cinnamon sets the lamps in the area, by the doors. Once the important places are lit, Cinnamon bid the three good night and heads back to where her professor is. After closing the door, Sora makes her way to the hotel, by climbing three staircases and turning off the lights in the way.

Arriving at the hotel and shutting the final light, she made her way to her room just nearby. There she spots the charging black PET and her bags on one of the twin beds. She then charges her PET after Colonel's finishes and then she sits down on the other twin bed. Feeling something is poking on her tight, she takes the item out and sees the Force Metal her friend gave her. She smiled at the small gift, as she looks and remembers what the said metal can do for reploids.

Then she froze as she mentally connecting the events till now. 'The Force Metal came from a meteor... This can boost reploid abilities... Barrel and Colonel are here in this world...' the brunette thought and then gasp at the realization. She then quickly yanks the black PET in front of her as dread settles in her. "Colonel, please don't tell me that Duo is here in this world?!" The Net Saviour frantically asked the military navi.

"DUO?!" Rouge yelped, as she remember the alien navi with god-like power and cringes on a time that he almost successfully erased their home.

Keyword: ALMOST.

If it weren't for Barrel and Colonel giving themselves to the alien navi, their home would still remain erased and they would probably become his prisoners or erased too. Both girls are not that thrilled on having to meeting the extraterrestrial navi with the ability to delete a planet in a snap... Again.

"Colonel?" Sora asked hesitantly, dreading the answer.

"Yes, he's here." that was his only reply.

Both Net Saviour and Net Navi are quiet, looking at each other before looking back at Colonel and they facepalms. "Colonel... sometimes I hate your bluntness." the female navi groans as her partner seems to react negatively on hearing that.

Right now, the kidnapped elder is the least of their problems, as there's a possibility that extraterrestrial navi saved him.

**:::^*^:::**

Somewhere...

A flash of light as a figure walks out of it. "Hello, old friend."

The said friend looks at the person, before looking back at the view.

"Don't be too quick to place your judgement yet."

Looking away from the view, it wondered why before sensing something familiar in the planet's network. Turning back to the view, it's eyes glow with recognition on the said presence.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day…

Sora woke up too early in the morning, as the fact that the extraterrestrial navi is in this world have given her little sleep. After dressing and eating what's left of food from the bags, she makes a quick check on Spider's Core Program and made sure it is still okay. Once she made a list of items to get, she then proceeds on opening the rest of the shops and scavenging what she needs. As she checks on the boxes of cereal... she hears Cinnamon calling her.

"Sora!" the nurse reploid calls, wondering where her human friend is.

The brunette quickly place back the box and runs out of the shop. Outside, she immediately spots the blonde nurse in the middle of the lobby. "Hey Cinnamon." Both Sora and Rouge greeted the nurse reploid, as she turns around and is glad to see her again. "So, is there any mission today?" she asked, as she walks towards her.

"None, but we all have to train." Cinnamon said, before looking away. "And the professor wants to see you."

"Training? And see me? Why?" Somehow, the latter does not sound good.

"Uh, well... the training is to prepare for our next mission, and... the professor have heard how you fight and is intrigued about it." she explains, as the brunette almost face fault to the floor. "He wants to have a word with you about it."

"Sora... you really outdid yourself with the Battle Chip usage." Rouge states as she crosses her arms at her NetOp and Colonel seems to agree.

"Yeah... Ah crap-tastic..." the brunette mutters as she regains her composure and looks at her friend. "Cinnamon, looks like I'm going to late for training today."

"Why?"

"I have to look for something in those reploid shops." she points out. "And to hide from your professor."

"You're not going to tell anyone?"

"No, if they know I'm human, I won't be able to find Barrel." she half-lied, as a part of her guessed that the veteran soldier is saved by Duo, and she have to find out the latter's agenda in this world.

"... Is Barrel a friend of yours?"

"Yeah... a human friend of mine who was taken by the maverick for a program he's safe-keeping." she explains, although she does not know what kind of program her elder friend have, but the mavericks certainly wants it.

"Oh my..." the nurse reploid gasp on hearing that.

"So please, keep these information as a secret... okay?"

She looks at her friend for a while before nodding. "... Okay, I'll just tell the professor that your kinda afraid of him."

"Nah..." the brunette disagreed on that, as it sound weird to be afraid of a platypus reploid. "Let's say I'm afraid of anyone poking or tinkering my insides, bad experiences."

"Okay, I'll tell him that and I'll also tell the others that you'll be late." The blonde reploid said cheerily, as she receive a 'thank you' from the brunette. After a short chat, Cinnamon left for the base as Sora heads back to the hotel, where her stuffs are and to get her Synchro Chip.

Meanwhile, a shadow dash off quietly towards the city. 'I'll make sure no one sees you outside your Cross Fusion... I dunno about Zero, but X will go nuts if he finds out she's human.' and with that thought, Axl deactivates his Stealth mode and quickly makes his way back to the base.

**:::^*^:::**

A few hours later… At the training grounds.

"Okay… Wait, where's Rouge?" Zero asked, looking around and did not see the navy blue, female reploid. Cinnamon did mention that she will be late, but they're almost done training. Looking at the others, Cinnamon seems to be nervous and fiddling her fingers, Marino is just continuing her training, Axl is minding his own training and Massimo looks clueless on the topic. "Cinnamon, did Rouge say anything else aside from being late?"

"Ummm... no, I don't think so." she replies carefully, hoping that her friend arrive.

"Did she went to Prof. Gaudille?" X asked, as he wonders where she went to also and hoping she went to Gaudille's place to examine her strange arsenals.

"No, she's afraid of being examine."

"Uh? Why is that?"

"Bad experience."

Both Zero and X are now clueless on Rouge's whereabouts, as only Cinnamon have gotten close to the said girl. The two Hunters wonders where would she go after missions, as it is becoming a pattern for their unusual member. Still the fact that the fight is getting close, they need to train their teamwork. So, after they announce the break, the two went off to find their other teammate.

'Oh dear... I hope Sora can get out of this situation.' Cinnamon thought, as nobody notices that the auburn teenage reploid is also worried for his sister. As soon as the others are relaxing, Axl silently slip away from the group to find her.

Meanwhile, CF Rouge have miscalculated on the timing of her shopping and training... it turns out that it takes two or three trips. She first bought computers, wires and hardware then returns back to the tourist spot, then she goes back to buy the programs she needs. "Okay… all I needed now is an anti-virus, strong enough to stop any viruses from entering the computers." She said, looking at the list as she walks to another shop.

But…

"Rouge!" someone called. Looking back, she sees X who is looking for her.

"Oh flarg... am I late?" she whispered at the two navis, as she runs from being seen by the blue hunter.

"... Yeah, training is almost over." Rouge said apologetically. "I guess I lost track of time."

"Tried, but you set the volume too low." the military replied back.

"Geez!" she deadpans back, then skids to a stop when she sees Zero on the other side, looking for her too. 'Oh crud.' CF Rouge thought, she she spots a door just beside her but... it is lock. 'Double crud, I'm trap.' as she looks at both sides and backing to the door, thinking of a way to become invisible since she forgot to slot-in an Invis Chip.

Then a hand suddenly covers her mouth and drags her inside of the door, now open behind her. The Net Saviour struggles to see who her captor is, as the person drags her to a nearby staircase and the door closes shut. As soon as they lost sight of the two Hunters, her captor quickly let go of her and disappear from sight.

"Who and what was that?" she asked out of shock, as she looks for the said stranger. 'Did that... just help me?'

"I don't know, but if I were you I would move now and figure this mystery later." Rouge said, as she faintly hears Zero's voice.

"Good point." CF Rouge said, figuring she'll just continue to shop later and then she ran off to her hiding place.

Meanwhile… Marino is getting a drink from the vending machine, when she spotted CF Rouge running somewhere. Curiosity got the better of her and followed the navy blue reploid. It didn't take long for her to find where their teammate usually goes to... but she did not expect the following scenario that would shock her.

"That was close." she said as she place her hands on her knees.

"Un... I think we should devise some escape plans if this happens again." Her navi said. "I doubt whoever saved you will save you again."

"Yeah." as she defuse and catches her PET, planning to give her device a short charge before venturing out again.

But unknown to her, a certain pink thief gasped on what she saw. 'She's... she's a human!' she thought and quickly runs off.

"Sora, someone is watching us." Colonel said in alert. The brunette slightly froze on that, then quickly makes her way to the door and there she caught glimpse bright green hair disappearing by the corner. "Who is it?" the military navi asked.

"It's… Marino." Sora said, and looks at the two Net Navis who now looks troubled. "This is bad."

But before she could even go after her, Cinnamon arrives to tell her about their next mission. Seeing that she'll be seeing the ninja reploid again, the brunette nods and enters Cross Fusion again. She and Cinnamon went to the Command Center, and there CF Rouge also receive a full length talk from both X and Zero about training schedule. The false reploid pretends to listen while keeping an eye on Marino, who happens to be talking with Cinnamon and caught her looking before turning her eyes away.

Then Nana walks into the room and tells them to meet Professor Gaudille about the Supra-Force Metal. Despite the fact that she's avoiding being examine and discovered, she feels that the news about the Supra-Force Metal is important and goes along with the group. Upon arriving there, the platypus reploid explains that the Supra-Force Metal contains ten thousand time more energy than normal force metal and it takes tons of force metals to make this. Noticing the energy charts, an alarm went off in CF Rouge's and the navis' mind and saw how ridiculously high it is.

"An energy that high can give out dangerous waves and either power-up or blackout a city! Plus if the computer network is advance like back in our world, it is very possible to punch a hole between reality and the cyberworld! Also there's a possibility humans can get sick from it!" Rouge states, after analyzing the data from Prof. Gaudille's computer.

'Are you serious?!' the Net Saviour thought, as she quickly makes a mental note on asking Cinnamon for a check up. Both navis are quite worry about it because of the fact that she's the only human in the group.

The professor also noted that the only place to get this much force metals is the Melda Mining Ore Plant at the north. And so, with that they left for the mission in the said area.

**:::^*^:::**

The Melda Mining Ore Plant is set in the north, Force Metal mined in Giga City is brought here for refining and to be converted for use in generators. The temperature of the refinery itself is kept low to absorb the heat given off when Force Metal is refined.

Upon arriving at the back of the said place, it is dark and the temperature is dropping. This wouldn't be a problem for CF Rouge because she got a few certain chips to keep her warm, but she does not know about the others though. 'I didn't know reploids could shiver.' she thought.

"Are you okay?" Rouge asked, concern on the cold and her NetOp reassures her that she's fine, as she follows the group inside the facility.

After exploring the place and failing to find a console to plug-in, to the Net Saviour's grimace, X found a small window. There he saw something strange and look a picture of it with the gem on his helmet, then sends it to Gaudille whom he contact with.

"Hmm…" Professor Gaudile looked the image over carefully. "Hard to say with just this shot. Try to get some images from other angles, then send those to me."

"Okay." X said, "We'll see-"

But then CF Rouge and Axl came running in from a room, looking unnerve as they are being chase by a pack of Wolfoids. The group yelped in surprise by this and runs out into the hall to escape the pack, they defeated a few but mostly they outrun them. After defeating the mechaniloids, exploring some rooms, taking more pictures and looking into some windows…

"X!" Axl called out as he exits a room with a console in it. "There's a peephole here too, let's take a look."

X looks into the peephole and sent the image to Professor Gaudile, while CF Rouge quickly hacks a console nearby with the help from Colonel. "What do you think, Gaudile?" X asked, as the professor did not answered for quite a long time.

"Oh no!" the professor exclaim, fear evident in his tone. "It can't be!"

"What? What is it?" X asked in alert, as CF Rouge perks up after hearing the professor's high-alert tone.

"It...it's a missile!" Gaudile exclaimed.

"A missile!" CF Rouge shouts in shock.

"They're using Supra-Force Metal for the warhead of that missile!" Prof. Gaudile exclaimed in fear.

"What'll happen if it explodes?" X asked, as he feels that he is not going to like the answer.

"The energy will be released instantaneously, affecting everyone in the northern hemisphere." CF Rouge explained, everyone turns to her and she continues to explain it's effects, like how Rouge explains it to her but left the cyberworld out of it. "The energy wave emitted by Force Metal will create a mass of Mavericks. While it is possible to power-up or cause a blackout on a city, it is also possible that humans can get sick, if exposed to it."

"What!" X and the other exclaimed, they are shock on hearing that. The false reploid continues with her operation with Colonel, on unlocking the doors.

"X!" Professor Gaudile said frantically, snapping the azure hunter out of shock. "What Rouge said is right! You must stop that missile from firing! Remove the metal from the warhead!"

"Roger," X said as CF Rouge quickly types on the console and then something click.

"I got the doors open." she said, as she secretly gets Colonel out of the console. "We've got to move!"

They rush to find the launching pad but only to meet with the fat Cadre again, he nearly face faulted to the floor when CF Rouge said that he's a failure in life. Botos then explains that the group needs the keys for the warhead, which the cadres keep and he happens to have one. This results on a wild goose chase on the fat maverick, defeating the mechaniloids blocking their way and almost getting fooled by some Botos' doubles if CF Rouge didn't instruct them on going at the right way.

But in the Net Saviour's view, her navi is able to scan the difference the real from the fakes by the energy level of the body and tells her NetOp about it.

However they lost him when a door he entered is locked, only way to follow him is through the other door. Upon entering the room…

"You!" X shouts, seeing the dark pink maverick in the air.

"Looks like my aggression is back." the false reploid quips as she summons her chain whip and buster.

"Calm down." Ferham said huskily as her whip cracks to life due to the electric current running thru it. "Form a line if you have to, I'll make sure each one of you gets it."

And the next thing they knew, is that they are being attack and they couldn't hit back because of Ferham's Crimson Shade. But Marino uses her Hyper mode and knocks it out of the cadre… but even without, it Ferham is still fast.

"Area Steal! Bamboo Sword! Slot-In!" CF Rouge stated and she disappears from sight.

Next thing, Ferham knows, she yells in pain when the dark blue reploid appears near her with a sword on her arm and slices one of her wings off. Zero dashes towards her, only to get hit by her whip and receives quite a shock. Massimo quickly went to Zero's aid and cuts the whip off, and both Marino and CF Rouge parries with Ferham, who uses the handle of the whip to block. The dark pink maverick tries to get back into the air but is pulled down by the chain on her ankle, and then is hit by a charge shot from X. Axl did the finishing strike by transforming into Mach Jentra and hits her with his fire. She lands painfully on the ground but when she stands up, she gives a pain cry and falls into the darkness below.

"Wait…" Cinnamon said, realizing something. "She's a Cadre, right?" she asked.

And everyone looks like they were hit by a bunch of Zwei Hammers at that. "Ah shit! She has one of the keys!" Zero shouts.

"The key!" both CF Rouge and Axl exclaims in synch. "We gotta go get the key!"

Everyone looks at the two for a moment and the two looks at one another. "Okay, that was weird… so was that." both of them said in synch once more. "Quit copying me!"

"Oh wow..." Massimo said, as he watches the two stare at another like they are reading each other's minds.

"This is weird..." Rouge said, as she scratches the back of her head. "Amusing, but weird."

"It's like you're both in synch, like twins!" Cinnamon points it out, causing the both of them to look at the blonde medic reploid, then at each other and then back to the medic.

'If only you knew that I'm a human-reploid hybrid and she is really my triplet sister.' The auburn teen thought, as he and his sister looks incredulously at her.

"Hey!" Zero calls out and they all looks at him. "Shouldn't we be going after Ferham?" he asked.

Remembering that the dark pink Cadre still have the key, the party quickly makes their way to the elevator. By the time they reach the lower levels, they found Ferham heavily wounded by the hole on her stomach.

"Strange, this is a terrible damage." X said as he checks on her wound and remembers that no one in the party dealt that damage to her.

"Damn you… X." Ferham said weakly

"You can't fight anymore." X said, as he stands up after analyzing the damage. "Now, give us the warhead key!"

'... Oookay... Way too demanding there, X.' The false reploid thought as she gave him a weird look. 'Especially on an enemy who is down.'

"The key." Ferham said and tries to get up, but fell back by the pain on the wound. "Botos..."

"Botos?" Zero repeated. "He has it?"

"Are you serious?" the auburn teen said in shock. "You mean Botos attacked his own teammate and ripped the key from her body?"

"That's what is looks like." the blonde hunter said as Cinnamon offered to heal her. But the cadre pushed her away, not wanting to be healed by an enemy.

"Okay, let's find him." X said as he looks at his friends. "She can't fight like this anyway. We should concentrate on Botos."

The team nodded, offered the dark pink Cadre sympathetic looks and left to find the fat maverick… All except CF Rouge, who just stood beside the injured Cadre. She looks down at the dark pink maverick and kneels near her. "You…" Ferham said, is about the insult her, so she can be left in peace.

When...

"Recovery!" CF Rouge said, a little unsure if the chips could have any effect on machines. As it turns out, it eases her pain and sparks vanished, but it never closes the hole as there is a difference between repairing machines and data. After that she stood up and turns...

"Why…?" Ferham asked, as her systems slowly recovers.

The false reploid looks at her for a moment before giving her a gentle look and said. "I'm not that heartless." and then she run off, catching up with the group and leaving Ferham there.

After reuniting with the team, they continue climbing up. Despite the Net Saviour has jet boosters on her boots, using it will just drain the energy and possibly defuse. Thus she doesn't use it that much and is more willing to run with the team. Upon arriving at the top, they found Botos, some limbs missing and dead.

And the Supra-Force Metal is missing from the warhead.

X and CF Rouge wonders what's going on…?

**:::^*^:::**

After the mission in the plant...

"Hm..." Colonel Redips thought of what the blue hunter said. Upon arrival, X immediately contacts the colonel and reports what happened at the plant. "You say they've taken the Supra-Force Metal weapon somewhere?"

"Yes, Colonel..." X replied, as the group decided to head for thee medic bay, as his fellow Hunters and CF Rouge remains in the Command Center for a while. The Net Saviour still sees something odd on the colonel's name, as she keeps herself out of the colonel's view. "The Supra-Force Metal is extremely dangerous. It must be dealt with."

"Well, now that the interference has been eliminated, we'll be able to lend you our support." he stated, despite the loss of the said metal from the plant. "I'm planning to lead a unit straight into Giga City myself. We'll help find the Supra-Force Metal. X, go to the Rebellion Army HQ and-"

Suddenly the alarms went off, making almost everyone jump at the loud klaxon and effectively cutting the transmission short.

"What's going on?!" CF Rouge asked out of surprise from the alarm.

"Intruder alert! It's an attack!" Nana reported, as she types to locate where it is.

"Where are they attacking?" Zero demands and the navigator responses that the intruder is near the shopping district, so they have to take the Air Bus as it is the fast way to get there.

The four quickly makes their way to the bus, as CF Rouge glance back to see the others running to the Command Center. 'Well... at least they'll catch the next bus.' she thought, as she quickly boards the bus. One of the staff heed them some warning which is practically ignored, as they have already boarded the bus and the door closes. The bus disembarks for the shopping district...

Arriving there, they come face-to-face with Scarface, just outside of the shopping district. The other reploid barricaded themselves inside of the district, as they watch the three Hunters and an unknown reploid face off with a Cadre.

"Who are you?!" the azure hunter demands, as Zero have his saber out and the safety's off on Axl's gun. Rouge made sure that the Cross Fusion have enough energy and Battle Chips for her partner.

"I am Scarface, a Rebellion Army Cadre." the black and gold reploid with a thick mane of pale blue hair on his back, stated and turns to face the group. "I have come to avenge my fallen comrades, and to take back the Supra-Force Metal!"

"Wait... the Rebellion doesn't have it?" Rouge asked, as the brunette arms her R-Buster.

"X." he said, as he points his energy lance at the blue hunter. "I challenge you to a combat."

"You want the Supra-Force Metal." X stated, as he points his buster at him

'Something's definitely off, if the Rebellion Army does not have the Supra-Force Metal... then did someone stole it?' the Net Saviour thought, as she wonders who stole the said metal and does that reploid knows how to use it.

"That's right!" the Cadre said, he is unfazed at the weapon pointed at him. "We need it to realize our vision! It's essential. Now, return it to us!" And charges at the blue hunter, who shoots back with a charge shot. But it miss as the said Cadre suddenly disappear and reappear in front of the blue hunter. Startled, he didn't react on time to avoid the lance and is hit.

"X!" Zero shouts, he quickly lit his beam saber and attacks Scarface as Axl and CF Rouge quickly helps their friend up. As the red hunter parries with the Cadre, Rouge quickly analyzes their opponent for weakness. Both young hunter and Net Saviour gives cover fire to the red hunter, as he was kick in the midsection and stumbles.

"Sora, he's an electric-type reploid, use fire against him." Rouge said, as her partner nods.

"Vulcan! Slot-in!" a machine gun with three barrels forms on her arm and shoots at the Cadre. But he once more vanishes from sight and does the same attack on her... only she came prepared. "Area Steal! Fire Sword! Slot in!" and she disappears from his sight.

"Huh?" Scarface uttered as the false reploid reappears behind him, with her other arm in a form of a flaming sword. But he manages the sense her presence and quickly blocks back, he then jumps back to make some distance from them. But then he is hit by a strong force, sending him back a few feet as he manages to remain standing up while skidding.

"Not bad." he quips before turning to the blue hunter and turns off his lance as a sign that he yield.

"What is this ideal you're after?" X demands "And what does a dangerous weapon like Supra-Force Metal have to do with it?"

"The Rebellion and it's commander do not wish to wage war. Why pit reploid against reploid?" As he and his friends remain on guard.

"Okay, question." CF Rouge speaks out, as she is equally confuse and curious on why would the Rebellion leader cause such trouble. "If you guys do not wish to wage war, why cause such huge commotions?"

"Because, you deny us our dream! Commander Epsilon ordered us not to attack unless provoked. I've come here of my own volition."

"When I fought you..." the blue hunter states as he seems to be a bit relaxed. "I realized you're not the kind of reploid that would use power to achieve crazed aims. So, why in the world would you use a deadly weapon like Supra-Force Metal and risk creating Mavericks?"

"A weapon?" the gold and black reploid asked. "Yes, it can be used as a weapon, but Supra-Force Metal was originally created to heightened the capabilities of reploids. By using it to improve ourselves, we have the potential to evolve by our own will. Are reploids mere machines? No, we possess will. We have life! We must take our destiny into our hands!"

"But, you're playing with fire! What if you cause a maverick epidemic?" as it raises the blue reploid's concern

"Who are you to judge!" Scarface yells at him. "Only future generations will have the right to say whether we are truly Maverick or not. But enough talk! X, I must admit that you and your comrades possess great strength. A pity we were not fated to join forces. Today, I shall retreat. You had best pray we never meet again."

He then warps away from the area, before the Net Saviour could even ask about Barrel if they have him.

**:::^*^:::**

After that fight, they got quite a complaint from Marino that they missed out the fight and the treasure... well, the treasure is mostly the pink thief's complaint. Cinnamon and Massimo, on the other hand, are relief that they are safe and not that much injured. The group then learn from Chief R and Nana about the whereabouts of the Rebellion army and the leftovers of them in various location. She then gave X the keys on the locks doors in Tianna Camp, Melda Mining Ore Plant, Langaro Island and Gimialla Mines. The group decided to check the places out and heads out before their final battle.

The first place, Langaro Island, the groups finds a mechaniloid for the deployment center to have and three reploid girls setting up their shops. CF Rouge wondered how they entered the place, when the door is locked.

Next, the Gimialla Mines, the worker reploids manage to escape the blast of the explosion and have returned working. The area around the fake lab, however, is totally destroyed and blocked by debris if move it might cause a cave in. Which was unfortunate for them, because they want to find Spider's body, in hopes that maybe the control chip is okay and could rebuilt him. CF Rouge turns and coughs a little, she'll never tell the little fact that she do have the body and is currently turning Spider into a Net Navi for answers. It's still hidden back in her first hiding place, even before the fake Spider's sacrifice! Either way, their search for items their was quick because of the huge Giant Metools which can give a painful stomp. But for some reason, the navy blue, false reploid is able to tame a few and manage to get them back for the deployment center, which left the group quite baffled. They just wondered how she does it, Cinnamon and Axl just hide a smile because they knew how she did it and Marino is still in doubts. The Net Saviour gives Colonel EXE a quick thank before following the group.

They then heads to the Melda Ore Mine Plant, where CF Rouge literally left the group and went exploring on her own. This causes a frantic search for her and for any stray piece of Supra-Force Metal left in the area. The Net Savior then backtrack to the entrance and enters the other door at the right, which was lock before. Going up the elevator and running down the hall, there she met a twin reploid ducks with drills on their backs, a pair of bright red, spiked hammers (she swears that those hammers have eyes.) and sports the symbol of the Rebellion on their helmets. However, she got into a fight with them by a misunderstanding and ends up being saved by the three hunters… who later lectures her on staying with the group, after finding the treasure that turns out to be Zero's new Hyper Mode.

And lastly, in Tianna Camp, they encounter some reploid girls who are rehearsing for their show. But upon seeing them, they got angry for finding out their secret and attacks the group. CF Rouge uses Fanfare and Discord to protect her friends and to confuse the enemy, while Zero uses his new Hyper Mode on them. The battle quickly ends and Axl finds a chip with the sign of Dr. Light on it. The redhead gave the chip to X and the blue hunter gains a new Hyper Mode.

After that, they head back to rest for the incoming last battle with the Rebellion Army.

**:::^*^:::**

"Well, it's not a nice mission but I think we found some stuffs to help us defeat Epsilon." CF Rouge said, as she hop out of the teleporter and immediately ducks an on coming bat wing. "Watch it!" CF Rouge snapped.

"Sorry about that." Zero apologizes as he deactivated his new Absolute armor. After Zero and X scheduled a training session for the team, especially CF Rouge, they each when on their separate way except for the three girls…

"Man, what a day..." Sora said tiredly. Once she found a good distance and less populated area, she exits her Cross Fusion and quickly makes her way back to the tourist spot. She meets up with Cinnamon on the way and as she makes a note of transforming Spider's Core Program into a Net Navi. As they arrive in the tourist spot...

"Sora." Colonel alerts her, making her stop for a moment and nods in response. The Net Saviour shushes Cinnamon to keep silent and sneakily went to the door. When she timed it right, she runs out and sees a certain pink thief just hiding behind the corner.

"Gotcha!" the brunette shouts as the said thief stumbles on being caught.

"Marino!" Cinnamon yelps when she followed her human friend and saw Marino, who is shocked to see Cinnamon here... with a human.

"… Wait, you know she's a human?" Marino asked in surprise, as she looks at the nurse reploid. She twiddled her fingers a bit before nodding and Marino looks at her with disbelief. "I can't believe you, why didn't you tell us about this!" Marino exclaimed, making both girls flinch.

"**Woah! Chill! It's not her fault!"** Sora said frantically, her American accent slip as she calms the thief. So they have to explain their story to the pink thief, as the Net Saviour made sure it's the same made-up story that she explained to Cinnamon.

After a few hours and leading her to the hotel room she's staying, Marino begins to understand why and made a small comment. "You know, this is the first time I have a human for a friend. Strange… yet comforting." Marino said as she looks at brunette.

"Really? Did all humans fled into the bunker or the moon or something like that?" The Net Saviour asked, as she recharges her PETs. She learned that there was a project that could evacuate the humans to the moon, but it did not went thru because of an incident involving Mavericks.

"Not really… after the 8th maverick war the project was scrapped and well… is never continued." Marino said, as Sora sits down on the bed. "What are you going to do now?"

"Pretty much I can only stay here and hide." Sora explained with a shrug, as she gives the laptop containing Spider's Core Program a look before sighing. 'Looks like I'm going to pull an all-nighter for this one.' she thought.

"You mean, you just stay here and do nothing at all?" the pink thief asked, while Sora just rolled her eyes.

"Not really, I usually open shops and raid the needed items."

"Well, taking advantage of being the only human here, do ya?"

"I'm not denying that, after all, some of the items are near expiration dates."

"Dang..."

"How about we get together and exchange stories?" Cinnamon asked. "Oh! maybe we can do that with snacks!"

"Not a bad idea, Cinnamon." the brunette replied. "There's a cafe I raided before, it still have some stocks of coffee and tea there."

"Great! I could use some drinks aside from sub tanks... by the way, can you use sub tanks in your CF form?" the pink ninja asked, as Cinnamon is also curious on how their human friend recovers. The brunette explains that she can't use the sub tank, but she have Recovery Chips to heal her CF form which gives relief to the nurse reploid.

And so the girls decided to have a girl's day off and heads to the cafe for the snacks and stories.

Unknown to them, a shadow watches by with a small smile. 'Well, I should've seen this coming. After all, the Net Navis and Reploids are alike in some ways... But the real test will begin soon.' The figure thought, before disappearing into a portal.

* * *

Silver: Done and done! Finally, this is probably the longest revision I ever did. Bloopers time!

* * *

**BLOOPERS**

**Tattletale!**

"Right." she states and her body glows. Cinnamon watches in surprise as her armor breaks apart and gathers together, then the glowing suit follows and merges with the parts. It forms a small navy blue and black device, which is caught by... a hand of a human, brunette girl.

As she place her PET on her shoulder holster... "Sora, someone saw us." Colonel alerts her and she quickly turns around to see Cinnamon, who is just outside of the door, staring back at her with wide eyes and mouth open like a fish.

'Oh shit, I'm busted.' She thought, as she approaches the very shock nurse reploid. "Uh... Calm down?" Sora asked awkwardly.

Cinnamon: X! Zero! Rouge-chan is a human!

Silver: Cut! Cinnamon, you're suppose to-

X and Zero: We have a human in our team?

Silver: Fish crackers… Axl, Rockman, do you mind?

Axl and Rockman: Hai… (prepares for hacking.)

* * *

**It's a Tornado out there!**

"Zero!" Massimo yelled as the blonde hunter struggles to pull them back, despite his back is in extreme pain. "Let go-"

"Shut up." he yelled at him. "I won't stand by and watch another friend go down!"

"Well…" she said with disappointment. "You're no fun. I guess this is goodbye, this is the end."

"Hey! No bullying!" a new female voice shouts, then Ferham finds herself being ram by a solid, hard metal piece and a dark figure lands… err… is being blown away by the wind and soon it caught the hunters and Massimo in a wild ride into the air.

X: Wah!

Massimo: Mommy!

CF Rouge: Hiiiiiiiii! Somebody turn down the fan!

Silver: (also caught in the current.) We have a malfuctionnnnnn!

* * *

**Macarena **

Ever wondered how did Sora taught the Preons to do the Macarena?

Well… it all started on Caramelldansen, where the Preons liked that song and were reprogram by Rouge and Colonel, thus they learned the cat ear dance.

Zero: ARGH! Somebody stop that song! (getting frustrated as the Preons continue to dance on the Swedish song (yes, from what I heard, that song came from the Swiss.) while Cinnamon just dances with them.)

Then she taught them the Macarena.

X and the other came running out of the room in panic as CF Rouge and Axl dances with the Preons

CF Rouge and Axl: Hey… Macarena! HAI!

And that's that.

Silver: (get hit by X's charge shot.) They never do appreciate dancing, do they? (and went to the hospital.)

* * *

**Bite hand!**

"Rouge!" someone called. Looking back, she sees X who is looking for her.

"Oh flarg... am I late?" she whispered at her navi, as she runs from being seen by the blue hunter.

"... Yeah, training is almost over." Rouge said apologetically. "I guess I lost track of time."

"You have a digital clock with you." she deadpans back, then skids to a stop when she sees Zero on the other side, looking for her too. 'Oh crud.' CF Rouge thought, she she spots a door just beside her but... it is lock. 'Double crud, I'm trap.' as she looks at both sides and backing to the door, thinking of a way to become invisible since she forgot to slot-in an Invis Chip.

Then a hand suddenly covers her mouth and drags her inside of the door, now open behind her. The Net Saviour struggles to see who her captor is, as the person drags her to a nearby staircase and the door closes shut. As soon as they lost sight of the two Hunters... CF Rouge retaliates and bit his hand.

Axl: Ow! Sora!

CF Rouge: Yikes! Sorry Netto-kun, I thought you're a maverick!

Axl: Didn't you read the script? That's I'm suppose to grab you?

CF Rouge: Umm….

Axl: You didn't read it, did you?

Silver: CUT! Take five! And Sora, read the script.

* * *

**Alike much?  
**

"The key!" both CF Rouge and Axl exclaims in synch. "We gotta go get the key!"

Everyone looks at the two for a moment and the two looks at one another. "Okay, that was weird… so was that." both of them said in synch once more. "Quit copying me!"

"Oh wow..." Massimo said, as he watches the two stare at another like they are reading each other's minds.

"This is weird..." Rouge said, as she scratches the back of her head. "Amusing, but weird."

"It's like you're both in synch, like twins!" Cinnamon points it out, causing the both of them to look at the blonde medic reploid, then at each other and then back to the medic.

CF Rouge and Axl: We don't look alike!

Silver: Guys! The script! Oh and there are rare chances for a boy and girl twin to be identical, if not look alike.

X: Really?

Silver: Yep... wait, that's not the situation right now! CUT!

* * *

**Yep, twins alright...**

"The key!" both CF Rouge and Axl exclaims in synch. "We gotta go get the key!"

Everyone looks at the two for a moment and the two looks at one another. "Okay, that was weird… so was that." both of them said in synch once more. "Quit copying me!"

"Oh wow..." Massimo said, as he watches the two stare at another like they are reading each other's minds.

"This is weird..." Rouge said, as she scratches the back of her head. "Amusing, but weird."

"It's like you're both in synch, like twins!" Cinnamon points it out, causing the both of them to look at the blonde medic reploid, then at each other and then back to the medic.

CF Rouge and Axl: We are related! We're triplets!

The gang: EH?!

Silver: Cut! Sora, Axl, the relation thing are for the later chapters!

The Hikari siblings (except Rockman): Sorry!

* * *

Silver: Done! Read and Review!


	8. Farewell or not

_**Connected Hearts **_

_**Farewell… or not.**_

Silver: Though here change much not, backwards on is brain my. Revised 8 chapter!

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own or MMX, if I do Enzan would've make-out with Yaito! XD)

* * *

**Farewell… or not.**

At the Grave Ruin...

X and the group have reached the throne room of the said commander of the Rebellion Army. When they are about to strike him down, Scarface jumps in the way and tried to convince Epsilon on retreating as he carries the torch of their ideals. He fought with the group, CF Rouge merely assisting her friends as she wonders... 'Are they even that bad?' she thought, as she gives cover fire for Marino and Cinnamon.

Unfortunately, he is defeated and proudly shouts the Rebellion's pride before he explodes. Despite giving time for the commander to run away, he refused and moves forward to fight. He removes is cloak and takes on a battle position, then attacks the team with Nova Impact. The attack is spread out and deals damages on the entire party, Marino quickly place Cinnamon behind Massimo to protect her. The others didn't get much lucky and got hit, the false reploid have to turn to protect her icon as she have no idea if reploids are stronger than their Cross Fusion. Although they all got hit by a wide spread attack, they quickly got back up and strikes back at the Rebellion leader. The group quickly fans out and attacks him on all sides, the battle is quite fast as the Rebellion leader himself is fast despite his size. However, the numbers manage to out-best him and forced him to unleash his real strength. By removing the limiters, a big chunk of glowing metal in his chest and abdomen area is revealed. Realizing that he have a Supra-Force Metal in him and using it on the highest output, they have to defeat him here and now.

But something odd happened to CF Rouge...

'What the...?' the false reploid thought, as she feels her CF form seems to be lighter and being replenish.

"Sora, is it me or is the CF form regaining energy?" Rouge asked, as she too felt the odd recharge while still in Cross Fusion.

'Odd... how and where...? ACK!' But her thought is cut off when suddenly Epsilon rushes to her and attempts to hit her with Fatal Attack. She quickly blocks it with her Hero Sword, but the Rebellion commander is too strong and manages to land a hit on her. She yelps as she feels the hit on her chest and is sent flying back. Landing hard on her back, she winces a bit as she recovers.

"Sora! Are you okay?!" her partner shouts frantically.

"Rouge! Are you okay?!" X shouts as he and Axl gives cover fire for the others, the blue hunter did not notice the extreme worry on the New Gen's face.

"Aye... I'm okay!" She replied as she winces a bit, before making a quick check on Colonel's PET. She sighs in relief that the PET is still intact, and scrambles back on her feet as she notices her icon. 'The icon!' she thought as she remembers that he hit her on the chest and looks down. Surprise forms on her face on seeing her icon still intact and the lack of scratches on it. "The... the icon, how?" she whispered.

"From the looks of it, our icon is more durable than the usual... odd." As her partner looks amazed on the improvement on her CF form, thanks to the new version. She then refocuses back on the battle and runs back into the fray.

The battle was rough as Epsilon's attacks are hard hitting and uses the energy of the Supra-Force Metal. They tried to hit him but he quickly disappears and reappears behind or on the sides, then striking back at them. The only one who manage to hit him is Zero or Marino, but they merely nicked the commander's armor. And the ones who avoided getting hit is Axl, Marino and CF Rouge, as they are able to speed or disappear from being hit... still there are moments or two they were caught off guard, and CF Rouge could only block to protect her icon. However, Epsilon begins to notice that every strike he lands on the strange, navy blue reploid, she is not that much damage and retaliates back with strange attacks.

"Whoa... how did the Aqua Tower get that much taller?" her navi asked in such surprise. Although it misses it's target by a few inches, the Battle Chip seems to gain some upgrade. "It must have been the strange feeling that powered-up our form!"

Her partner quickly nods in response, as she decided to use it on her advantage despite she have no idea where it came from. As the battle goes on, Epsilon caught a glimpse of the strange reploid's eyes and that caught him off-guard. That allowed Massimo and Zero to land heavy hits on him, thus damaging him severely. He kneels near the ground, his body sparking from the damage, X kept his buster pointed at the Rebellion leader.

"Why?!" the blue hunter demands at the Rebellion commander. "Why create something as dangerous as the Supra-Force Metal missile?!"

"For power." he answered, as he struggles to get up. Seeing this made the Net Saviour feel sorry and guilty for him. "Without power... our ideals will be ignored."

"What?!" bewildered at this, as the blue hunter still points his buster at him and seems to be hesitating. "There must be a better way..."

"The Federation has labeled us Maverick. What other options do we have?!" As he gets up and attempts to use the Supra-Force Metal again. "As long as I am in operation, I will..."

Zero alerts his friend to shoot immediately, which didn't give CF Rouge a chance to make a comment as X fires a charged shot at Epsilon. She watches as the huge reploid explodes, unable to find out why do they need to rebel at all. X approaches and retrieves the Supra-Force Metal Epsilon was using, while others rejoice on the end of the Rebellion Army. The false reploid, on the other hand, stared at what's left of the Rebellion leader before sighing a bit. As the Hunters examine the metal, Colonel Redips suddenly appears from behind which nearly gives the false reploid a heart attack, or in reploid term a reboot.. After receiving a commendation from Redips, X hands over the chunk of Supra-Force Metal, and explains that the warhead was never completed. The reploid colonel looks at the metal in awe, before congratulating them once more and told them that a ship will arrive at Central Tower tomorrow to take them home.

This means a celebration for X and the team, but for CF Rouge AKA Sora, it means good-bye…

**:::^*^:::**

Back at the base…

By the time the group got back at the base, CF Rouge escapes from their sights and heads back to her hiding place to rest and recharge her PETs.

Even though the fight is over, there is still a problem involving an extraterrestrial navi.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day…

As the group begins to say their farewell, Zero notices that CF Rouge is missing and looks around the room for her. "Hey, does anyone have seen Rouge?" he asked, after failing to find her.

"Oh! She left already." Cinnamon said quickly, truth is Sora and her navis will set on another journey to find their missing friend. And right now, the human girl is gathering supplies, back in the tourist spot.

"She left?" X asked and the nurse reploid nodded, he then sighs. "Too bad, I really want to know how she is able to do those kinds of attacks." the blue hunter did not notice Axl snorts a bit and looks away.

"Same here, although she supported us in every battle, she is still quite a mystery to us. Not to mention that she always disappears and then pops out of nowhere when it is training or when the mission starts." Zero said, as he recalls the times she would appear and then vanishes out of sight from them. There are rare moments when CF Rouge actually stayed with them, just to hang out. They couldn't contact her either as she may have forgotten to give her ID to Nana, and they could not locate her from time to time. As if she have the ability to go under radar...

"Hmmm... She must have been like them too." a platypus reploid said as he enters the room with Nana.

"Excuse me?" The blue hunter asked, as they turn to Prof. Gaudille who scratches his beak.

"Rouge, was it? She might have been a high-performance reploid like those Cadres." he stated and causes everyone to look at him. "Hey! It's the only explanation on why she have those abilities and so versatile in combat!"

'Okay, my sister has been compared to a high-performance, Force Metal-infused Reploids...' Axl thought, as his brow raise on that comment. 'Well... at least, she's not here to hear that.'

"A high-performance reploid like them?" Massimo asked, as he remembers her disappearing from time to time. "But... could she be a spy?"

"Not likely." Marino is quick to jump into the false reploid's defense, as they don't know who exactly she is. "If she is a spy, she would've informed the other Rebellion members of our plans or back-stab us."

"But why does she always disappear after mission or training?" the blonde hunter asked.

"Well... didn't she mentioned that she's looking for a friend?"

"Yeah, but what is that to do with it?"

"Her friend is a human."

Now that stop them on their tracks, eye widening at the thief (except for Axl). "A-A human?!" Massimo stuttered, out of shock.

"Wait, I thought all humans were banished and is forbid to return when Epsilon took over this island?" Nana asked.

"Well..." Cinnamon pipes in. "Not all... she said, that her friend hid somewhere in one of the areas and continued with the experiments on the Force Metal and improving her."

"Then Rouge is the product of that experiment?" X asked, as he begins to understand why she kept disappearing... she is still looking for her friend in her way. "Now that I think about it... when we met her, she is looking for him." then he felt a hand on his shoulder and turns to see Zero.

"Once we report to Redips, let's lend a hand to Rouge." he stated and the blue hunter nods back with a small smile. Both girls are a little worried for their human friend, but they know that she'll be far away from the others to find out her secret.

And Axl... he felt his heart dropped down, he really wanted his sister to stay with them but can't. She's a Net Saviour and her task is to find her way back home to their family and friends. It will be difficult for her to find her way back, but as long as she have her Net Navi and computer skills she'll persevere. He, on the other hand, is a Maverick Hunter and is far different yet similar to humans. The auburn teen did not have the guts to tell her who he is, but he is happy to meet his sister in personal.

'Good luck, Sora... I wish I could spend more time with you, but you don't belong here...' he thought, as the platypus reploid wished to meet the human who created Rouge. The young hunter could only smile as they kept mistaking his sister as a very impressive reploid, but made no comment to it. He knew that his sister made that all up to hide the fact that she is human, except for Cinnamon and Marino who accidentally found out her secret... well, perhaps not all of her secrets but it's pretty much justified as she and the Net Navis does not belong in this world, like him...

'Get home safely, sis.' the young hunter thought, as he looks out of the window.

**:::^*^:::**

She pauses and looks around a bit. 'Weird... I thought I heard someone...?' Sora thought, as she shrugs it off and continues to check her items.

At the hotel in the tourist spot, the brunette Net Savior felt a bit happy and sad. At first, she didn't know why… until she realized that she made close bonds with the reploids she met. For days, Sora and her partner have learned and accepted the reploids, which they were built to be close like humans, to help each other, to be equal and to live in harmony with humans itself. She also knows that some mavericks are… well, not mavericks. Some of them are not infected by the so-called Maverick Virus, that destroys their programming and causes them to go berserk.

Somehow, it reminded her of Nebula and the Dark Chips four years ago. The said chip powers-up a Net Navi but destroys their personalities and the connection with their NetOps, then the said navi would go on a rampage, looking for other Dark Chips like a drug. But she and Rouge defeated the said organization, and the Dark Chips are now mostly exist in few numbers.

Then there are reploids who rebelled against humans by their own free-will, wanting independence and the freedom to do things they want. 'Like us…' Sora thought sadly, as she packs the chargers having finished charging her PETs and the Battle Chips. She remembered what her grandmother and her father tells her about humanity and free-will, it's a double edge sword. If one side shows the positive side, the other balances it with the negative. It's like the light cannot exist without the dark, or there can't be day without the night. It seems that the reploid have mostly been staying in the middle the said balance, and now they are tilting towards the bad side of it.

She sighs... "I guess… we're the ones who supposed to be blamed, huh?" the brunette said, as she sit on the chair and looks at the laptop. She then added... "We're the bad examples to them. Reploids are more than just robots programmed with feelings and self-awareness, they are like a new race that life decided to make through human hands. Too bad, people tend to fear what's cannot be seen." She said to herself and Rouge appeared on her shoulder.

"... Look who has gotten used to this world." Rouge said and she just smiled at her partner "But remember, we need to go home, our family and friends are worried for us like hell." She reminded her NetOp as she sits down.

"Right." Sora said, smiling a bit and then she looks back at the laptop which contains the newly-reborn Spider. It took her days to complete him, as the missions, training and spending time with Cinnamon and Marino takes most of her time. But she managed turn him into a Net Navi with Rouge and Colonel's help. Right now, the reborn reploid-navi is currently sleeping but he'll wake soon… whether now or in a few minutes.

"By the way, are you finished packing?" Colonel asked, as he appears in the said laptop where he makes sure no viruses enters and infect the newly-reborn reploid-navi.

"Erk, not really." she replied, scratching the back of her head. "I'm just waiting for Spider to wake up."

"Eh? Why?" her navi asked.

"Something does not sit right in this whole shindig..."

"You mean, there's something not right?" the military navi asked.

"Yeah... I'm still wondering who almost destroyed Spider and why would he pretend to be him till his 'sacrifice'."

"... I have to agree with you there, something is definitely off." Then they think about the events that happened and tries to find what's weird. "Hmmm... The only idea I got is the reploid have to be similar to Axl. From what we've seen and learned, Axl is a New Generation Reploid who have the ability to copy any reploids in any form or size. The fact that we found Spider's body and seen another Spider during the mission on the fake Rebellion lab, makes that ability one of the possible clues." the female navi points out.

The brunette nods in agreement. "But he is not the suspect as he is with us for the entire fight." she points out.

They then continue to think, suggesting wild possibilities and shooting some down. "It seems we're running out of suggestions." the black navi said as Rouge cross out what seems to be a weird scenario, as she couldn't help but to agree with him till...

"Wait... Colonel..." as the said navi looks at her. "No! Not you, the other one, a reploid." as she mutters that the military navi needs a nickname or sorts.

"What about him?" Sora asked, as she remembers the reploid who X constantly tried to contact with.

"His name... I don't think it's a weird typo." the navy blue navi stated, as her partner thinks about the reploids name.

"You means Redips? Yeah, it is a weird name and it like-" she stops short as her eyes widens a bit and facepalms. Colonel wonders what's wrong as the brunette seems to snorts out of irritation. "Redips, Spider... that's not a clue, that's a billboard!"

"So, you think Redips is behind Spider's... almost destruction?" the military navi asked, as he continues watching the area.

"There's a possibility that they are related and the only way to find out is to ask Spider himself." Rouge stated as she crosses her arms.

"Yeah, but first we have to introduce him on being a Internet Navigator. He'll probably freak out on not being able to venture out into the real world anymore, even more if he cannot move and navigate thru the systems." her partner added as the female navi just shrugs in agreement.

"Well, you have to wait no longer, he's waking up." Colonel said, as he senses Spider's slight movement in the laptop. The newly-reborn, tuxedo reploid-navi opens his eyes and sees the brunette girl with a concern look in a screen, not far from him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" She asked.

"… Ugh… Where am I? Who are-" Spider stops speaking as he winces on his stiff body, a little weak from not moving around much. Then something hits in his mind like a fully loaded mini-van. "Oh shit, I've got to warn X!" as he gets up and then stumbles down because of the uneven floor.

"**Whoa! Hold on there, cowboy."** the brunette said, as Spider looks at her and spots the two navis near the said screen.

"Who the heck are you?" Spider asked, as he is bewildered on seeing a human girl. "And where am I?" he demands, as the three smiles a little on his situation, they knew this would happen at some point.

"Well, at least he's taking this a bit well…. " Sora said, scratching the back of her head and looking at her two navis. She then looks at the navified reploid and greeted him. "And my name is Hikari Miriku Sora. So, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm… I feel strange… Where am I?" Spider asked once more, as he looks around the place he slept in. The surrounding looks like blue-greenish glasses… everywhere, from the ceiling to the floor as if it is floating in air. Then he notices strange looking "mechaniloids", some are floating because they have no legs at all. And lastly himself, he looks the same except for some slight differences. First his armour is a lot sleeker and is quite tight to show off the lean muscles. Second, there's a weird silver, round thing attached on his chest, and on it is the image of the diamond, heart, spade and clubs. And lastly third, he feels more lighter and more free to move anywhere in this strange place.

As if nothing is holding him down...

"What happened to me?" he asked, looking at Sora as she picks her PET and points it to the laptop.

"Well, it's a long story, I'm sending my partner in to help with the explanation." Sora said and then she plugs-in Rouge to clear some few things up.

"Rouge, what happened to you?" Spider asked, when the said female navi appears near the black one's side. He then notices slight differences on the dark blue Net Navi, from the one he and the party first met in the real world. She got black hair and purple eyes, instead of the brown hair and eyes he saw before. 'Come to think of it, this human girl do have those- nah, it's not possible… can it?' he thought.

"Nothing, I'm pretty much okay… but something did happen to you." Rouge stated out. "You see, my NetOp and I were exploring the city, when Colonel alerted us to got back into our last hiding place and we found you… kinda… ripped off."

And Sora took this cue to show Spider his damaged body, she retrieved it from the other hiding place just after the fight with Epsilon. This gave Spider quite a shock, staring at the ripped and heavily damaged of what used to be his body. "And in order to save you, we quickly took out your core program from the body and transform you into a Net Navi." the brunette explains.

"A Net what?" Spider asked and is quite dumbfounded on what she said. But he does know one thing: he was killed by someone and this human girl saved him.

"An Internet Navigator or Net Navi for short, they are like reploids except the fact that they are stuck in a computer or a personal terminal or PET for short." Sora explained. "Rouge and Colonel are Net Navis and I'm their operator."

"Wait, so they're not reploids?" the reploid-turned-navi asked. "Then who is the reploid who stepped on X's head?"

"Ah that." The human girl chuckles a bit, before looking back at him. "What would be me."

"EH?!"

"Like my partner said, it's gonna be a long story." Rouge stated with a shrug, as they begin explaining about the Net Navis and the Cross Fusion. But, they also told him the same made-up story and the reason why they joined X's team.

"So what you're saying is… that you been kicked out and separated from your family and friends, a few months ago. Then you slept in a ship that was set for Giga City, met a fellow NetOp, then he was kidnapped by mavericks cause he hold an important program and you pretend to be a reploid so you can look for him." Spider stated out what she said. And both Sora and Rouge nodded, hoping that he would believe their story. And… he did. "Well, that explains why you look different." he said to Rouge.

"Heh… at least you met two people in a price of one." Rouge joked a bit.

"True... Whoa!" the reborn reploid-navi yelps as he stumbles a bit, and then find himself standing on the wall. "What? ACK!" as he loses whatever made him stick on the wall and fell flat on the system's ground.

The female navi and Colonel looks a one another, as Spider is not used on being a navi and cannot tell which is the right way up since some programs can run up the cybernetic walls. "I think he needs a quick tutorial on being a navi." she states, as the military navi seems to agree and he lends the new navi a hand.

'Close call.' Sora thought as she sighs in relief and watches as Colonel gave Spider a quick lesson on being a navi. As Spider continues to learn how to be a navi, the brunette continues to pack her stuffs. And as she try to decide which clothes she should bring...

"Why did you save me?" Spider asked, which startled her a bit. After getting the hang of the new life on being stuck in the computer, the former reploid wondered why would a human go and save him.

"Why not?" Sora asked as she looks at the two blue shirts before tossing them back on the bed.

"Aren't you afraid that someday we become maverick, go berserk and possibly kill you?" he asked, as he watches other programs bump into one another and ends up arguing. 'Okay, that's amusing' he thought.

"Well yes, but I don't worry it much since I got my partner and Colonel with me." She replied as she packs one of the shirts and proceeds to choose which pants she should bring. "And besides, you reploids are not that all bad." But Spider is having a second thought on what she said, when the military navi voiced out.

"Sora does not sees you as a machine or object, she sees you as an equal and a living being." Colonel stated, as he jumps down the ledge, landing beside the other black navi who looks dumbfound on his statement. "Watch yourself." he snaps, as he push the navified reploid behind him and strikes at a virus.

"Whoa, there's a virus?" Rouge asked and Spider just stared at the dissipating data which the military navi deleted. He never seen a virus in that form or image, all he knows is that the data and viruses are made up 0's and 1's.

"Looks like the firewall in this laptop is not that much strong…" Sora muttered and looks at military navi. "You don't mind scanning the system would you?"

"Hai." he nodded and went off into the deep system of the laptop.

"Anyhow, did you saw the person, or reploid, who killed you?" the brunette asked Spider, he then tries to remember what happened back then. He then froze as he remembers who killed him and he nodded stiffly. "Rouge, can you teach him how to turn his memory into a video?" she asked her partner.

The dark blue navi nodded and teaches Spider how, while she continued to pack her stuff in the duffel bag.

Unknown to them, the navified reploid hopes that the memory is not true. 'It can't be him... no...'

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile...

Both girls poke their heads out of the corner of the hallway, looking at the area. Once they secure no one is there and making sure no one is following them, they quickly make their way to the tourist spot.

**:::^*^:::**

An hour later…

"Hey, where are you going?" Spider asked, as he concentrates loading his memory into the player. Sora look up after zipping her bags close.

"Well... I have to rescue someone, then look for my fellow NetOps and after that…" she paused for a moment, she knew that it is very risky to reveal the fact that she belongs to another dimension along with the two Net Navis. So in short, she must think of a lie that is strong enough to believe by anyone, even to the reploids.

"After what?" Spider asked. She thanked her lucky star, when someone called her and she quickly excused herself. Walking out of the hotel, she sees Cinnamon and Marino in the lounge with some supply and money for Sora's journey.

"Hey!" she greets the two from her spot.

"Hey! We bought you some stuffs for your journey!" Marino shouts, as they make their way up to give them to the brunette.

"Thanks." Sora shouts back, smiling a bit as they make their way to the floor she's on. Once they reach the said floor, Cinnamon gives Sora a few bottles of purified water and a small wallet containing a few zennies. While Marino gives her some dried fruit and a few energy bars. A few days ago, the Net Saviour found out other reploid functions... aside from getting energy from maintenance beds or pods, they can eat and the food replenish a small percentage of the energy. Still unlike humans and reploids, humans need nutrients to keep their health in check, thus being picky on what they eat.

"Oh and another thing, you been quite a topic of the day."

"Eh?"

"Everyone mistaken you as a high-performance, Force Metal-infused reploid." Cinnamon quips, which made the human girl chuckled slightly and blush a bit. "The way you fight and your abilities are quite versatile."

"Wow... of all things to compare my CF form with..." she sheepishly scratch the back of her head, then makes her way back to her room in the hotel.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" the nurse reploid asked, as they follow her.

"Yeah, you'll be safer if you're with us." Marino said, placing her hand on her waist. Luckily, Sora has prepared a made-up story for this situation.

"Thanks, but I can't." Sora said. "I still have to rescue my friend, find my fellow NetOps and then... possibly stay together and find a new place to stay. Besides... it will cause quite a trouble if the world comes to know about these."

"Why?" Cinnamon asked, sitting on the bed and helping her pack the item they given her.

"Well, firstly, there some bad people after us because of Rouge and the other Net Navis. And think, if I could hack into any systems with the Net Navis, what do you think if someone got inside your systems, took over your body and control you like a puppet on invisible strings?" that causes them to pause and look at her.

"She's right, if they get a hand on a PET or a Net Navi, they could manipulate the reploids and use them as scapegoats." Rouge said, from the laptop by Sora and joins in the conversation.

"So you're saying that you can hack into us?" Marino asked, feeling a bit scared on the idea of someone manipulating her to do a crime which will label her maverick.

"It was tested before the incident, but the reploids are aware as we manipulated them to shut down or fight it's own kind." the navy blue navi replied. "Then we move on to recovering/deleting reploid's main core program which-"

That made the two reploid cringe, when all of the sudden the laptop began to create weird, high-pitch noise which made them cover their ears from it. "Hie…! Rouge! What going on?" her operator yelps and Rouge quick dives in back into the laptop.

A few minutes later, the noise stopped and Rouge appeared on the laptop screen scratching the back of her head. "Gomen Sora, Spider here set the volume too high." Rouge said as Colonel appears, wondering what's going on. "Spider just set the volume too high, Colonel." she repeated what she said to her partner.

"Wait! Did you say Spider?" Marino asked and quickly grabs the laptop. And there she saw the 3 navis in it and one of them is the ex-reploid bounty hunter, Spider. "Y-you're alive!" she exclaimed.

"What? Cinnamon asked and took a peek and is taken a back. "Spider! H-h-how-" but she got cut off by Marino.

"Okay, what's going on Sora?" Marino asked with an edge in her voice. Although she is happy to see Spider again, she wants to know why he's a Net Navi now.

And Sora told them what's has happened in the past few days… Rouge has to calm her NetOp, as she is explaining it too fast and told her to breathe slowly. The brunette even showed Marino and Cinnamon the dismantled body of Spider as proof, and they believed that there was an impostor in the team… but who?

"Sora, the video is ready." Spider said and played it in a player.

It showed the event that happened just a few days ago, it showed Spider's view as he is heading for the Air Bus. And then they heard him wince in pain and looks down to see a beam blade on his abdomen, then he yells in pain as it is removed. But he didn't go down without a fight and turns to see a cloaked reploid with the said blade. He strikes back with his card, causing the hood of his attacker to fall back... both reploid gasped while Sora's eyes nearly bug out when they saw who it is.

"Redips!" They all shouts and then they discovers that he is no ordinary reploid as the said colonel swiftly ends the bounty hunter's life. He then took Spider's DNA and transformed into him… Redips is a New Generation Reploid like Axl!

"That sneak! Wait till I-" but Marino got cut off by Cinnamon.

"But, how do we suppose to prove it to X and the others that Redips is behind this?" the nurse reploid asked.

"Cinnamon… we have Spider and his old body." Sora said in an obvious tone, pointing the two proofs in the room.

"And I agree with her, now come on and let's tell the others about it!" the pink thief stated and they nod in agreement.

Then. "Ah! I just remembered the ship arrival is today, right now!" the nurse reploid exclaimed as she remembers the ship's schedule.

**"Say WHAT?!"** as she packs the laptop and straps the black PET on, the brunette quickly grabs her bags and runs out as the two follows. But as she is about to perform the Cross Fusion, the building shakes violently and everyone loses their balance. Then debris fell from above and breaks the glass dome, sending glass, concrete and metal raining down at them.

"Sora! Look out!" Cinnamon shouts out of worry, as the ground they're standing on breaks and the pink thief is confuse on who to save. Then the bridge collapse and sent the three falling below, the two reploids can survive the drop but the human can not. However, the Net Saviour managed to quickly grab on the rails, as she shield herself from other falling debris. She looks down to see if the two are okay, she then sighs in relief to see Marino landing awkwardly on the ground with Cinnamon on her arms. As she thinks of a way to get down, the straps suddenly loosen and the black PET slips out of it's holder.

"Colonel!" Rouge shouts in alert, seeing the PET fall.

"Shoot!" the brunette shouts, as she turns to see the black PET is about to hit the ground... when suddenly it is incase in a cocoon of light. "Wha?" she uttered as the light vanishes, along with the PET.

"D-did Colonel's PET just...?" the female navi asked out of surprise, as her partner looks impassive at the situation.

"I knew it." the Net Saviour states out in irritation. "I flargin' knew it! That friggin' alien have already saved him! And probably used us as a way to observe this world, on the possibility that Colonel and Barrel are probes! Oh I can't wait to kick their butts for trolling around!"

"Sora, before you think of kicking butt, how about we try to get down and Cross Fuse?"

"... Right, sorry."

"Sora! Are you okay?" Marino shouts, who is just beneath her and the brunette waves back at the thief. "You can let go! Don't worry I'll catch you!" Nodding back at her, she let go and drops into the thief's arms. Placing her down, they look at the damage that was done in the tourist spot and decided to look at what's attacking the place. "Sora, you better Cross Fuse now. I think that sneak is here to finish his dirty work."

The brunette nodded and searches for her Synchro Chip... only to find it missing from where she usually put it. She checks the other pockets but finds no Synchro Chip. "Oh crap." she swears, thinking that the chip must've slip out of her pocket.

"Is there something wrong?" Cinnamon asked, as she looks worriedly at her and waiting for her to Cross Fuse.

"I... I think my Synchro Chip slipped out of my pockets." As she looks around the area for the said chip. Not wanting her friend to be defenseless, the nurse reploid also look for the said chip as she have seen what it looks like a few time. It didn't take long for them to find it... but Sora shrieks in horror.

"What's wrong?" Marino asked, as she turns to look back at the two.

"The Synchro chip… is broken." Sora said, showing the silver-white chip that is bent in 90 degrees and the red orb is shattered.

Then they heard an explosion and the building shakes once more, which made the brunette fall flat on her butt. Thinking that the base is no longer safe, Marino quickly picks up the bags and gave it to Cinnamon then takes the human girl's hand. They then runs to the hangar to find out what's going on, and upon arriving they yelped in surprise on seeing a bunch of mechaniloids dropping from the sky. But they are even more surprise when X and the other boys sees them, who are quite shock on seeing a human with the two.

For Axl, he is surprise that his sister is still here.

"Whoa!" Sora jumps alert, avoiding the bullets.

"Marino! What-?" X got cut off when another explosion is heard.

"What's going on here?" Marino shouts, cutting X off as she grabs Sora and ducks for cover behind a metal crate.

"Cinnamon!" the brunette shouts as the nurse reploid could only stand there with her hand on her head, too scared to move. Luckily Massimo quickly got her out of the way and ducks behind the metal crates with Marino and Sora. The two hunters kept firing at the mechaniloid and as they destroy one, two more are deployed from the ship. 'This is bad… Really bad. I don't know what his plans are, but I'm sure he does not want any of us to live and tell the tale.' Sora thought and takes out a plastic bag from her pocket.

"Sora! Tell Marino and the others to take this route and hurry, the doors will automatically shut down in just a few minutes!" Rouge said after scanning the building for possible escape routes, not minding if she's heard. Her partner nods back as she fills the plastic bag with small firecrackers and something else…

"Marino, once I throw this, you hit it. Then we get the heck out of here, Rouge says that the doors will close soon if we don't!" Sora said to the pink thief, who nods back. So she did what she's told and throws a star at the plastic bag, which causes it to explode and smoke covers the area, distracting the mechaniloids. Marino led the team with Sora and Rouge's guidance before the building traps them inside.

X and his friends along with Sora and the Net Navis pulls a fast retreat. And just in time for Redips to announce to the citizens of "X's betrayal". Redips has framed X and his team for his crimes and for one thing… Sora and Marino agreed to give Redips a "nice" payback.

* * *

Silver: Read and review!


	9. Doing what's right

_**Connected Hearts **_

_**Doing what's right.**_

Silver: Chapter 9 revise! With a lot of changes!

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own or MMX, if I do Enzan would've make-out with Netto! XD! Yaoi baby!)

* * *

**Doing what's right**

After the incident, Sora and her Net Navis (Spider included) were placed in a room for "her" protection in an area of Giga City. Apparently, no one notice the PET or a transparent Net Navi hanging around her shoulders, much to her luck.

"I told you, I only found her sneaking around the place." Marino said, trying to hide the fact that Sora and CF Rouge are the same person who helped them in every mission. The Hunters would flip on learning that, and the reploid society is not that much ready on accepting a human girl to be on par with a reploid because of a special equipment. X and Zero might accept her, probably Axl too… but not the whole reploid society. She made up a story that she found her when she fell out of the vent, during the attack back at the hangar. It took her just a few minutes, X and the boys accepted the explanation… well, Axl accepted it to protect his sister

Meanwhile… Sora sighs and paces around the room... or more like a prison to her. "I never thought this would happen." She mumbled.

"Me neither, but we must get out of here quick." Rouge said, crossing her arms and her NetOp nodded. Then X came in with a gentle yet stern expression.

"Um… Sora, right?" He asked and she nodded. "Well, you'll have to stay here till the whole situation is over."

"What?" she asked with her brow raised.

"It's too dangerous outside for you to come out." X explained. "But don't worry, Prof. Gaudile will stay with you."

"… Okay." she muttered and looks back at the window. X sighs, seeing that she'll stay put but wonders how or why a young human girl is here in Giga City. By far, he only know from Rouge that her human creator is kidnapped, but she did not mention any others. If their paths cross again, he'll have to ask her about the human girl.

Meanwhile, outside, Axl and Zero watches as their blue companion talks to the girl. Zero is also wonders how or where she hid during the Rebellion, but Axl knows.

'Her Synchro Chip broke.' the red-head thought, remembering seeing a glimpse of his sister looking sadly on the bent Synchro Chip in her hand. 'By that, she won't be able to help us at all besides hacking and virus busting.' as he sighs and feels her down mood.

After securing her safety with the platypus reploid, X and his friends heads off to stop Redips and to demand why he betrayed them.

**:::^*^:::**

By the time they are a good distance away, Sora got up and walks out of the room. She then walks around the place and soon she heard the platypus reploid nearby, constantly fretting on the situation. She turns away and checks the door the party went thru... she finds it lock. Snorting at this, she then looks around for possible exits.

"Sora…" Spider said, as he manage to get himself into Rouge's PET and appear on her shoulder. "Don't be sad." he said.

"I know… but I really hate the fact that Redips deceived everyone, even me." Sora said, looking at him as she continues to look around.

"I know… and he happens to be my younger brother too." Spider said with much sadness and disappointment.

"I… Wait, he's your brother?" Sora asked in disbelief.

"… Yeah." he confirmed and the two stared at him. "You didn't notice the reverse name-thing, did you?"

"Uh... we kinda expect something else." Rouge pointed and appears beside him. "Sora and I thought the reploid who disguised as you have a grudge or something like that." as he chuckle a bit.

"Well… our creator is not that creative in naming."

"Welp... that is one of the weirdest twin names I've heard." the brunette deadpans. "It's like 'I'll name you this and I'll reverse the spelling of this name, so you'll sound like twins'! I mean, no offense, it kinda lame for your creator to do that." The reborn reploid-navi just laughs awkwardly as he scratches the back of his head. "So how did your brother became… like that?" as the two stare at Spider for answers.

"Well… our creators made us and like you said, didn't have a knack of creative names and well…" Spider began telling the Net Saviours about his brother's life story. Soon they learn that his brother was born as a New Gen Reploid in secret, in hopes to see if he can handle the Force Metal. The experiments seems to excite him first, but soon he became bored of it. Eventually, Spider left the city to become a bounty hunter and lost contact with his family. Then he heard the news that his brother became the colonel and head of the Far East Maverick Hunter branch, which surprised him a lot. But Spider felt something wrong, when the Rebellion takes over the city. He knew that his brother could've taken them on since he is a New Gen, but something was off. And so he decides to return to Giga City and investigate his brother in secret, while he plays his role as a bounty hunter for hire. He got a few clues before meeting X, and continues to find more as he helps the Resistance. But to his shock… his brother found him and destroyed him, took his DNA and copied his looks on that day. "After that, I wonder why my brother became like that and still I have no idea why." he said.

"I see…" Rouge muttered.

"Maybe because…" Sora whispered.

"Maybe because of what?" the female navi asked, looking at the brunette operator.

"Maybe because he's bored." Sora said, as two navis looks back at her. "Well, from what Spider said, he seem to be the type who want something new to do... or in better terms he hates a dull life."

"But why?" Spider asked. "My brother is the head of the Far East, why would he be bored?"

"I don't know... but I do feel that he's aiming for something big." she quipped, as she spots a ventilation shaft. "But I still don't get one thing… why would transform into his brother and then commit a fake suicide?" she asked.

"From what I can guess, I think Redips does not want them to know that someone is manipulating the scenes. He probably found Spider, who was investigating him, as a foil to his plans and decided to do away with him. But, on the sudden death, it will cause suspicion and his plans will be revealed. So he decided to take his brother's role and then commits a fake sacrifice to motivate the team on finishing the Rebellion" Rouge explains her theory, as her partner takes out a tool and proceeds to unscrew the shaft. "Am I right?" the female navi looks at the reploid-navi.

"Yeah... Like I said, I was investigating about him and his odd plans." he said, as he thinks about his clues and facts he gathered before dying. "Hey, did he do something after my death?"

"Not really. After your death, he continues with his pretend till..." the brunette replied, as she remembers his sudden appearance after Epsilon's defeat. "Oh snap."

"What is it?"

"I-I think I know what's you're brother is after." As the two navi looks at her, as she stops for a moment. "I think he's after the Supra-Force Metal."

"The Supra-Force Metal?" Spider asked.

"Oh yeah, you were just destroyed that time" as her partner explains what the Supra-Force Metal is, and he looks bewildered on hearing it.

"Are you serious?! Why would he go after something that dangerous!"

"That I can't explain." Sora said, as she gets rid of the screws and yanks the shaft off the wall.

"By the way, where are you going, Sora?" as the black navi watches her grab her bags and walks back to the open vent.

She stops for a moment and takes out the laptop, where Spider is currently occupying. "Well, I can's do much since my Synchro Chip broke... so I'm going to looks for a way to get back to the mainland or any country of sorts, and resume my search for my fellow NetOps." as she transfers the reploid-navi back into the laptop, packing it back into her bag and quietly sneaks out through the vent. 'I'm sorry.' she thought as she checks the map for the direction of the docks.

**:::^*^:::**

It didn't take long for her to reach the area, but they are not near the docks yet. She quickly takes out a crowbar from her belt loop and proceed damaging the grate, so she can poke her arms out with her tool and unscrew it from the wall. When the screws are off, she kick the grate and jumps out of the vent.

"Whoa… Sora, check this out." Rouge said, as her partner stands and saw what she is pointing. The Net Saviour finds herself in a weaponry storage room and the brunette looks jaw dropped at the weapons around her. There are a bunch of weapons are align on the walls and tables, and some are in the process of assembling. Ranging from close combat weapons such as beam sabers, beam knives, giant mallets and etc, to long-range weapons such as guns, pistols, bazookas and etc. She walks around, and touches some of the weapons till she activated one of them by accident.

"Whoa!" Sora yelped, as she jump and quickly turns the gun off. "That was close..."

"Oi! What's going on out there?" Spider shouts, hearing the shots made him worried that she encountered mavericks or mechaniloids.

"I'm okay, Spider." She quickly reassures him and takes out his laptop. She then shows him where they are right now. "Yeah, I think I stumbled into a weapon storage." The reploid-navi sighs in relief before looking back at the brunette.

"Try to be careful." the female navi reprimands he. "We can't fight back since we cannot Cross Fuse."

"Hai..."

'Despite she is best in hacking and programming, she is still human...' he thought as he watches the two, then an idea came to him. "Hey Sora, why don't you take a weapon or two?" the reploid-turned-navi suggested.

"What?" both NetOp and Net Navi said at the same time, as they both look at him.

"Well, you are in a weapon storage and you can't Cross Fuse... so I think the best way to defend yourself is to take a weapon or two."

They stared at him before the girls looks at each other... then Rouge sighs, as she sees that Spider have a point and allowed her partner to take a weapon ONLY for defense.

One by one, Sora looks at the weapons in the room and decided to pick two, a Buster Pistol and a shield. The Buster Pistol is like an ordinary buster and a hand gun combined, yet it is not very strong. But it is make up with a Fast Shot system, making the gun shoot fast at its enemies like a machine gun. It's could also Charge Shot but it has a limit or the gun would burn in the owner's hand, and is not powerful like the ordinary arm buster. And the pistol is also in experimental stage or in other term, a prototype.

The shield is made out of strong metal similar to the reploid's armour, the only problem on the shield is… it's a bit heavy and it is generally made for reploids.

"All right, I gotta a shield and a gun… you know, I could've pick a beam saber or something" Sora said as she slings the shield on her back, and her pistol on the holster on her belt she found and equipped.

"No, you don't, the gun and shield is enough for you." Rouge said sternly, as the thought of her partner wielding a beam saber seems to unnerve her. She then notices her partner is giving her a look. "Don't give me that look, young lady!" she pointed out and the brunette rolls her eyes as the navified reploid can't help but to smile.

Once she packs the laptop back into her bag, she have Rouge locate the docks on the map and quickly makes her way there. And as they reaches the gate of the docks...

"Are you sure about this?" Spider asked, startling the Net Saviour a bit and she takes out the laptop, to face the reborn reploid-navi.

"Sure about what, Spider?" she asked.

"On leaving our friends."

"I really want to help them, I really do, Spider." Sora explains, as she plugs in Rouge to open the gates. "However, I don't have the ability to do that now... All I can do is to move on while I pray for their safety and win against your brother."

Then not a word is said for a moment till... "Sora…" he said.

"Yeah?" Sora asked, as she hears the lock clicks open.

"Thank you."

"Huh?"

"Thank you for saving me."

"Oh, it was nothing." She said sheepishly as her partner returns to her PET.

"No, not at all, it was something." he said. "You see, not all humans are thrilled with reploids, but you are different… You care for us like we're…"

"Humans… I know." the brunette said, as she makes her way into the docks.

"But, are you sure that you want to leave?" Spider asked. "Not to mention that you wanted to beat Redips for what happened."

"Well... I'm in no position to join X and the others." She explains, as she adjusts the weight of her new equipments and gave Spider a small smile. "And besides, I'm sure they are going to be okay." Then she stops on seeing the ships, remembering that she not a good driver. 'Heck, I'm not even a sailor!' she thought with an annoyed snort.

As she thinks of plugging Rouge in one of the ships and letting her drive...

_"I can't give up…"_ a voice said in her mind and stands frozen on the spot. That's because the link of her brother, Netto, is suddenly waking up from it's long hibernation. Sora and Rockman also have a link between them but when one is killed or died, the link is severed and can never be revive. 'But why is it reviving?' the brunette thought as she tries to reconnect with her brother's missing link.

_"I have to- AH!"_ Netto yelps in pain.

_"Netto!"_ Sora shouts, but then she felt the link is suddenly cut short. _"Netto! Netto!"_ Sora called but no answer.

"Sora, what's wrong?" Rouge asked, worried on the look her partner is making.

"Huh… nothing…" Sora said and tries to shake the matter off. Then she hears a tiny noise and looks to see a force metal on the floor. She then remembered Cinnamon giving her the little, strange looking chip to her, which reminds her of the hexagonal patterns of the Dimensional Area. Then she remembers the times she spent with Cinnamon and Marino back in the tourist spot.

'Minna...' she thought, as she then remembers the time she had a talk with X.

**:::^**_Flashback_**^:::**

X looks a bit tired, as the day they'll face the Rebellion leader comes soon. CF Rouge walks by and almost collides with him. "Whoa!" she yelps, as she quickly turns to protect her icon. The azure hunter snaps himself awake on hearing that and quickly makes steps to avoid her. In turn, he loses his balance and falls, but the Net Saviour quickly grabs his arms and yanks him back up.

On he is on his feet and is wide awake. "Oh… Thanks." X said sheepishly, as his friend sighs at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"Sora... is it me or is X's energy level that low?" her partner asked, as she have done a quick scan on the blue hunter and finds his energy near critical.

Looking at the hunter again, she caught him yawning as he is about to make his way back to the command center... till she grabs his hand and yanks him to the other way. "Wha? Rouge?" he asked out of surprise and is once more snap awake.

"You're energy is too low!" she reprimands him, as she drags him to a maintenance bed in the medical bay.

"But-"

"You can't fight with your energy like that! For now get some rest." as they enter the med bay, startling a pair of reploids in the room. Not minding the occupants, the Net Saviour points at the maintenance bed as she gives the azure hunter a stern eyes. He tries to reason with her, but she manage to counter them and is persuaded to take the bed.

Before he lies down. "Uh Rouge... Thanks."

**:::^*^:::**

"X…" Sora mumbled but she shakes it off. She then notices how long her hair is, probably it reaches her thighs and is tied tightly to keep it from getting damage in battles. She then remembers her time with the red hunter.

**:::^**_Flashback_**^:::**

During training…

"ACK!" Zero yelps in pain, as something pulled the back of his head and fell flat on his back on the ground. CF Rouge noticed this and gave him a cover fire, as he gets his hair out of entanglement from the pipes and metals that are sticking out.

Once training is over, the group takes a break and CF Rouge decides to see if the blonde hunter is all right.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked as Zero winced on what happened today, then she notices some debris stuck on his hair.

"Yeah, my hair just got caught, that's all." Zero answered, has he sits down on a sofa in the lounge and takes a brush from the table. He combs his hair, picking out stray metal, but then he encounters a tangle and wrestles it with the brush. He winces in pain as he tries to yank it out, only to have the brush clamp on his hair harder. Then the navy (false) reploid places a hand on the brush and his hand.

"Here, let me give you a hand." She states as she gets the brush out.

The red hunter is skeptical on letting her do his hair, but he decided to give her a chance. Giving it a good look, she found quite an amount of oil on his hair and more stray metals. "Huh, Zero, ever think of giving your hair a wash?" she asked, which the hunter shakes his head in response. She sighs a bit and drags the blonde to a washroom, where she places the long hair into the sink and proceeds to wash it.

"You know, for a guy who is a close combat fighter, you should have a habit of washing your hair after fights." CF Rouge said, as she picks out broken gears, screws, bolts and stray metals out. The red hunter did not reply but he stays still, until she's finish. The hair wash didn't take long, as the Net Saviour uses liquid soap as a substitute for shampoo. And she have no clue if reploids uses their own brand and formula, so the liquid soap will have to do for now. Once she got rid of the oil and stray metals, she then wring his hair a bit before drying it with a spare towel nearby. She then brushes the hair to get the rest of the water down, as she toss the towel into a hamper.

"Okay... done." she stated, as he looks at the mirror. His hair is now fixed and is back in it's bright golden color, also it follows Zero's movements and feels more lighter.

"Uh... Thanks." he said, a bit awkwardly as he is not used to have anyone this friendly aside from X and Axl.

"No big." she replied as they walk back to the others.

**:::^**_End of Flashback_**^:::**

'Darn it, stop thinking about them.' She thought as she mentally slaps herself. 'I know that they are going to be okay.'

"Or not." A voice said, she quickly turns around and see the same cloak figure, the one was sitting on the couch back at her home world. Shock and wondering, she quickly takes her pistol out from the holster and aim it at the person, but he is gone.

"What the?" Sora said, as she is still on guard. 'How did he-?' she yelps when some one push her behind and turns to see the stranger just beside her. She quickly takes some steps back, while keeping her gun pointed at the said figure.

"Sora, are you okay?" Rouge asked frantically, as she appears out of her PET and glares at the stranger.

"My dear." The figure said, both girls confirms that it's a male. "Are you sure that you are going to walk away from your friends who are in trouble?" he asked.

"I do not know what the hell are you talking about, but I'm not 'walking away' from them." She snaps and shoots that him.

"Are you sure?" he asked, as he leans to avoid the shot and then flips a certain item in his hand.

"Ah! Spider!" Rouge shouts, as the brunette looks at one of her bags and sees the zipper open.

Realizing that he stole the laptop, she looks back at him with a glare and charges her gun. "Give him back!" and releases the shot. She winces a bit as the kickback sends her skidding backwards, while she maintains her stance. However, the shot misses her target as he steps to the side and lunges at her. She quickly raise her gun, only to find the stranger by her side. 'Quick! Is he a reploid?' she thought, as suddenly she was pushed forward thus making her stumble a bit. She then turns when suddenly a gust of wind bursts into the docks, out of nowhere. It makes her shield her eyes and once it is over... the stranger is gone.

"What was that all about?" Rouge asked.

"I… don't know." Sora said and places her pistol back in the holster. 'Who was that person?' Sora thought. 'And why does he know my relation with the reploids? I hope they're okay...'

Then... "Ack! Spider!"

"Sora! I'm over here!" the navified reploid shouts as a small hologram of him pops out form one of the bags.

"Thank... wait a minute." Rouge quickly said, as she sees the black navi's hologram which can only be possible with...

"How did you-?" as the brunette digs into the bag and pulls out... another Link PET, only it is black with white highlights and the reploid-navi's crest is set below the screen. "... Wha...?" she uttered, as she and her partner looks bewildered on seeing it. "Are you kidding me?"

"... Is he a friend of yours?" he asked, as the said stranger seems to have given the black navi his own PET to live in. Somehow, he feels right at home in the device which Rouge is similarly staying in.

"No." the brunette said straight out, then looks at her navi. "Do you think...?"

"It could be." her partner replied, as she looks back at the brunette with concern. "But that can't be him."

"Then he must be another probe."

"Uh guys, what are you talking about?" the black navi stops their musing and looks at him, before looking at one another. Then they waved the topic off, stating that they don't know who that man is and then focuses on what ship they should take.

Then she just stops and stands on her spot... as doubts and uneasy feelings manifest in her. She then looks back at the dock's door, back where the former Resistance base is... wondering if the others are okay.

"Sora, is there something wrong?" Rouge asked with concern, as her NetOp turns away but looks back once more. The brunette knew that it is risky to go after X and the team to help them without her CF form, but she also wanted to help them. As her mind debates with either going back to help or not... she heard a faint voice in her mind and it is her brother once more.

_"I can't give up… this is for her and Rockman… I want to see them again."_ Netto said, before it was cut then another voice was suddenly invaded her mind.

_"Hold on, Sora. We're coming to help."_ And this time, it is Rockman, his link have manage to break thru and connect with his sister. But cuts the link off, due on being in a different world.

_"Netto… Rockman…"_ She calls out, despite knowing the link is cut off. For a while she just stood there with her eyes close, as the two navis looks at one another with worry. 'I... I can't leave them.' she thought, as she looks back at the former base once more. 'I just can't... after all, they're just like Net Navis, friends and partners.'

"Sora..." Rouge said, as her NetOp looks at her. "Remember what I told you before? That whatever you decide, I'll respect it."

With that, Sora simply smiled as she turns and makes a dash back to the room where platypus reploid is. "Ack! Wait! Are you serious on going after them?" the reploid-turned-navi asked frantically, as the brunette quickly runs thru the bridge. Many reploids turns their heads on the sight of a human girl making way thru the halls and bridge, and causes quite a gossip as she jumps over barricades and taking the elevators up. "Oi! You're in the open! Every reploid can see you!" Spider yelled at the brunette.

"Then let them see me!" she replied back with confidence, as she finally reach the floor where the group place her and Prof. Gaudille in. "Besides, I'm tired of hiding anyway."

"But-!"

"And I got a shield and an awesome gun." as they arrive at the place where Prof. Gaudille is staying in. "After all, you did suggested that I take arms in defense."

"I didn't- I mean-!"

"Spider... you've been outwitted." Rouge said cheerfully, she looks apologetic to the black navi as a dark cloud hung above the former reploid and he slumps in defeat.

'And besides, if my brother Netto decides he can do things right, so can I!' With that, she enters the room and spots the said reploid. "Prof. Gaudile!" she shouts and the platypus reploid jumped in surprise.

"What is it, girl?" the professor asked, out of surprise.

"Do you know where X and the others are?"

"They're... wait, why are you asking that?"

"Please answer the question."

"Well... if you want to know, they're heading for the Maverick Hunter, Far East Headquarter."

"Thanks." She turns to make her way there, only to be stopped by the platypus reploid who warned her not to go there. Then Sora requests for something to help her on catching up with X and the others, as well to defend herself. At first, he disagrees on helping her and tries to scare her by explaining how different fighting a machine from organisms. But that backfired, when she threatens with her gun and has a deadly aura emitting from her. He then later saw the Rouge and Spider, he learns a few things especially when Spider was assassinated by his own brother. He then agrees to help and gave her a special suit for her to use. The suit is what the human would use to protect themselves from the raw energy of the Force Metal, it is also fitted with armors in case of hazards from tools or mechaniloids.

As she changes in another room, she gives the suit a good check before putting it on. 'I'm coming to help, minna.' She thought as she zips the black suit close, looking like a second skin to her. She then straps on her gun and shield, as the black navi takes the chance to talks with the professor.

After changing, she then packs the collapsible helmet of the suit, some gadgets she takes interest in and some Mega Elementals in one of the two bags. She transferred most of her personal items in the other thus overstuffing the other bag. Then Prof. Gaudile walks to her side and gives the brunette something to help her in some battles, a Energy Card Charger and a special gloves to hold the cards. With this, she can use the cards Spider left behind, but it has it's limits since he built it in a rush to help her. She thanked the former reploid as he smiled and seeing that there is, at least some way, on helping her. After thanking him, he instructed her to take the Air Bus and then she left to help her friends.

Whether they like it or not, she is going to join into the fight of the reploids.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile… Back in DenTech city

Enzan and Blues continues their search for clues on Sora's disappearance, while Laika and Searchman search the net for the criminal who made the machine. Ever since Sora and Rouge disappeared, the Hikari family are almost devastated and Rockman nearly had a break-down.

He couldn't slept for most nights, as he mourns on losing another sibling.

But he soon discovered that she is alive because their link wasn't broken but merely cut, and there is a chance to get her back. So the blue navi told his father about it, which he theorized that his sister is sent into another dimension, like the Beyondard Incident, 4 years ago. They both agreed to find the equipment that was used on Sora and Rouge, and replicate the reality rip to get her back. They also told Enzan and Laika about it and to find the blueprint of the machine in the factory, if there are any.

'Hold on, Sora. We're coming to help' Rockman thought, as he, Blues and Searchman flies into the net to find the one who built the machine. But he didn't know that the link between Sora and him has awaken for a moment, and his sister manage to hear him. But it got cut off again when the walls of the parallel worlds rebuilt itself again.

* * *

Silver: Changes? Yes, the suit came from Gaudile! And weapons used by Spider! YAY!

Spider: I'm glad there's so role changes, but making me the brother of that nuts?

Silver: Either that or you die by a useless navi? (he shuts up.) I thought so, read and review minna-san!

**FUN FACTS:**

**When I was creating Sora, I was in a internal war whether I should make her a genius or not. Eventually after watching American Dragon, the character "Spud" inspired me to do a balance character... So basically, I almost based Sora on Spud, due to his philosophy: "All work, no play. All play, no work? There has to be a balance!" But in this story, Sora has accepted her gift and tries the best she can to help people without overdoing it. Her old personality will appear in the prequel "Connected Hearts: Making Connections" (it sound like it came from a cellphone AD... XD!)  
**


	10. You're my friends

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**You're my friends**_

Silver: Chapter 10 revised! With more Spider scene! YAY! Sorry if I have to remove Colonel for majority of the scenes... the Space Navi saved him! I also added a secret aid for Sora and the Net Navis, can you guess?

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own it's theme songs or MMX, if I do Megaman would still exist and is helping X out. XD)

* * *

**You're my friends**

**:::^**_Sora's P.O.V._**^:::**

Hi! I'm Hikari Miriku Sora, a Net Saviour in my home world.

Let's have a quick recap on what happened…

Enzan, Laika and I were sent on a mission to retrieve a bunch of government equipments that were stolen, but it turns out to be a trap and it got me. However, it turned out to be a portal of some sort and transported me in another world, and there I met up with Colonel Barrel and his Net Navi, Colonel EXE again. Unfortunately, our reunion was cut short when a pair of mavericks came, and took Barrel away, leaving me and the Net Navis to fend for ourselves.

A few days later, we found where the truck that has taken Barrel and manage to perform the Cross Fusion with the help of the new version of Synchro Chip that my dad made.

Yeah, Rouge called me crazy on using a Synchro Chip that is not fully approved yet. But it's either use it or get yourself killed by mavericks…

Then I met a group of reploids, the three of them are Mavericks Hunters, and they are agents or soldiers whose duty to stop Mavericks. Kinda like the Net Saviours in my world, only it consist of reploids. They are X, who resemble my older navi brother only older, Zero, the blond one who have a very serious attitude and Axl, who is the teenager of the three.

Anyway, I joined them with 3 reasons: One, I do not know anything, except for Colonel who knows some details about this world. Two, highly advance, self-aware robots infected with viruses are very dangerous. And three, It's safe to go with them for some what reasons...

I dunno if it's a bad or good decision, but I became friends with those reploids. And I make things even more complicated, when both Cinnamon and Marino found out that I'm a human. But things turns out to be… well, fun? Well, it's not like everyday you make friends with the reploids, it's quite a different but similar experience as they are almost like the Net Navis. After we defeated Epsilon, Colonel Redips, who gave the mission to X and Zero and the real guy who's behind all this, suddenly appeared. And he nearly gave me a heart attack, or in reploid term, a reboot. He compliment us on defeating Epsilon and told us that a ride home will come soon.

But I can't go with them since I have to find my way home, Barrel became the least of my problems since I guessed that he was saved by Duo.

Once we arrived back to the base, I quickly went back to the tourist spot and decided to leave the group. But before I even left, the newly-born Net Navi, Spider, woke up. What happen to him? Someone tried to destroy him but I manage to get his core program out and turns him into a Net Navi. And we, Cinnamon, Marino, the Net Navis and I discovered who's behind all this… Redips!

But bad things went to worse when the ship that Redips sent attacked the base, and cause some debris to fall into the tourist spot. I almost fell but managed to grab on the railing... however, Colonel's PET slip out and both Rouge and I witnessed it being transported out.

I knew Duo is behind this, and I was right that Barrel was saved by that space navi... I'm so going to give him a beat down, and I don't care if he got god-like powers!

Anyway, it got worse for me when I found my Synchro Chip broke and I couldn't perform Cross Fusion anymore. Both Marino and Cinnamon decides to drag me out of the spot and so see what's going on. There we saw the ship deploying mechaniloids and shooting at our friends. We took cover behind some crates and Rouge quickly instructs me to tell Marino to lead the others to safety, as she calculated an escape route…

But X and the other saw me without my CF Form.

Then they placed me in a room for my safety... or more like a house arrest to me, since Prof. Gaudile is acting the caretaker. But since some of them didn't know anything about my Net Navis, I made my escape and grabbing weapons along the way. When I found the dock, I started to feel the guilt of not helping my friends and hesitates on taking a ship. It's strange… I guess that's what happen to you when you made a bond with them… Oh what the heck, I consider Net Navis as friends, partners, and families. And Reploids are no different either.

I decided to go after them by getting the platypus reploid to give me some additional weapons, and then I took the Air Bus to the said Far East HQ...and then, I got myself into this mess!

**:::^**_Normal P.O.V._**^:::**

"HIIIIEEEEE!" Sora shrieks, as she runs across the bridge and is being chase by a pair of mechaniloids called Red Hubcaps. These type of mechaniloids are the said to be one of colonel's guards, they resembles shrimps but their faces are on the back and have a pair of two small machine guns. They can also use elemental attacks like Mega Ice, but that is the least of her worries as she takes cover behind a corner. On arriving at the bus stop of the Far East HQ, these mechaniloids were the first to greet her as she stepped out.

"Well, this is not the worse welcome I encountered." She said to the two navis, as she takes out and charge her Buster Pistol. The brunette then releases it on one of the Hubcaps, which is hit head on and explodes. Realizing that the human is armed, it cast an elemental attack on her. Seeing the ground glow, she quickly scrambles away from the corner as a Mega Fire hits the area where she is hiding. Seeing her in the open, the remaining Hubcap takes aim but the brunette releases another charge shot. But it tilts away, only hitting it's side and machine gun. The Hubcap tries once more to shoot her down, only to get hit by rapid shots from the gun and explodes.

The brunette sigh in relief, as she waves the slightly hot gun to cool it off when- "Whoa!" she yelped, as a shot misses her side and turns to to see another type of mechaniloid attacking her. Avoiding another shot, which reminds her of a Cannon Battle Chip, she charges he buster once more and fires at the mechaniloid. The shot connects but the machine didn't go down, and continues to shoot at her. Taking out her shield, she moves out of the covers and shoots at the mechaniloid till it is destroyed.

"Hot! Hot!" she juggles the pistol, quickly places it back into the holster and strapping the shield on her back.

"Sora, are you okay?" Spider asked, as his hologram pops out of his PET.

"Yeah... but I knew I should've taken a beam saber instead." She joked as she walks back to the said HQ, seeing that the area is mechaniloid-free.

"But that thing is dangerous and I doubt that you might take it home." Rouge said, as Sora spots a vent not far from the main entrance of the building.

"But I'll be careful." Sora pouts as she walks towards the vent.

"Sure… then you'll ask mom to help in the kitchen and use that thing as a kitchen knife?" the female navi said with a bit mocking tone in it.

"OKAY! I got the point! Geez man, you remind me of Mile and Miley back home." the brunette miffs, as she stops in front of the vent and take out her tools she always carries. All while both Spider watched their exchange in amusement.

"Are you guys always like this?" Spider asked, them as the brunette unscrews the vent.

"Sometimes." Both Sora and Rouge replied, as the brunette pulls the vent to get it off the wall.

**:::^*^:::**

Getting inside is the easy part, but confronting a bunch of mechaniloids while looking for the group is kind of a pickle. "Man… I'll never catch up with them at this rate." She said, as she catches her breath and Rouge sighs. The navy blue navi knew that she might end up like this.

"Sora… There's an elevator on the right you might use and it is also much quicker if you go that way." Rouge said, after scanning the area. Sora looked at her partner with wide eyes. "Hey, I'm an Internet Navigator or Net Navi for short, that's what I do." Rouge said in defense.

"Thanks." the brunette said with a smile as she followed Rouge's advice.

'Like I have a choice anyway… then again, with her stubbornness and confidence, she always saved the world in the end.' Rouge thought, as her partner hops on the elevator. Once it reaches another floor, she makes her way thru the hall. And on entering an the area, the Net Saviour and the Net Navis saw an almost destroyed reploid.

"That's Wild Jango!" Spider said out of shock, as he remembered confronting the said reploid with the blue hunter, back in Central Tower.

"Wild who?" Sora asked, as she kneels down to look at the reploid.

"Wild Jango, X and I fought him before we met the others. He was also a Rebellion lackey." Spider said, looking at the dead bobcat-like reploid. "But why is he here?"

"I can't sense his system anymore… His core program is gone." Rouge said, after scanning the reploid's system.

"You mean his control chip is destroyed." the black navi asked, as his friend nodded back and thought it is a reploid term for the Navi's core program. "But why would Redips revive a Rebellion member?" he asked, looking at the two. "He never met him at all."

The Net Saviour thinks about it for a while, then looks back at Spider. "Maybe... maybe when he did that fake suicide, he went off looking for their leftovers upon learning about them." she stated out. "I think he wants a good security measure, to make sure that any Rebellion or Resistance survivor wouldn't reach him."

"I see... he must have copied a part of my memory banks, the ones with the Rebellion Army encounters in it."

"Then catching up with the others is not going to be that hard after all." as she stands and continues on her way. She runs down the hall, then enters another elevator and goes up. As they go up, they discusses about the difference on reviving a reploid and a navi.

She then wonders why it is illegal to revive the reploids, when the control chip survived the destruction of their bodies. It turns out that when either the generator, fuel tank or a combination of the two explodes, it damages the data in the control ship, if it did not destroyed it. The system and it's data is quite delicate, a sudden shock of power or heat is enough to put the programs in disarray, and damaged programs corrupting itself to survive. But then... it just change when Sora saved him, but transforming him into a Net Navi.

Both NetOp and Rouge explains that they only took two specific programs from the core program or the control chip, which is the memory and personality data. They don't need any other programs than those two, but they keep in mind of what the reploid's looks and it's main weapon. But before they make the frame, the two checked on both programs and find all of the data still intact. This made the black navi relief as the damage inflicted by his brother, only caused a power failure thus shutting him down. The brunette then programed and built a frame out of a generic navi, the ones most people who are new in using PET starts with. Pretty much, Spider's navi body is now like any custom navi except she removes his weakness and immunity, making him a balanced navi. On the other hand, the downside, he lost most of his skills and he can only perform Standard Strike, his most basic attack which he throws cards at his enemies.

Arriving on another floor, there are three ways to go... To the right is a transporter and to the left is a room with a pair of reploids in it. Both reploids are surprise on seeing a human girl, but nevertheless they are friendly to her. She asked if they seen X and the others, both reploids told her that they did see them enter the elevator at the far end of the longest hall. Thanking them, she exits the room and proceeds to the elevator, despite the two warning about enemy mechaniloids. On reaching the elevator, she finds it lock and as she is about to plug-in Rouge to see if she can hack it open...

"Sora." Spider said in alert, as he heard something or someone warp in the far end of the hall. Not sure if it's her friends or an enemy, she silently hides in one of the three open rooms and peeks out… to see a certain pink reploid with a whip as her weapon, Ferham.

'Yipes, I'm going to be dead meat when she sees me' Sora thought nervously and remains hiding, but she heard the reploid groan in pain as she struggles to enter another room. "Oh, why me?" she cursed herself.

"Be careful, Sora." Rouge said, as her partner approaches the remaining Cadre. The brunette nods back at her partner, as she carefully nears her. Seeing that her body sparked and her energy is lowly getting low, the brunette decide to throw the caution in the wind and helps her up.

Ferham did notice that she is not alone but have no energy to retaliate, as the fight before nearly drained a lot of her strength. But to her surprise, the person decided to heave her up and drags her to a room, near the transportation area she exited. And to surprise her even more, the one who's helping her is a human girl.

Meanwhile, Sora is quite surprise on the reploid's weight as they enter the said room. Without the wings, the dark pink reploid would have the same weight as a human woman of her physique. Once she got the nurse reploid to heal her, the pink Cadre looks at the human girl as the nurse refills her Sub Tanks. "What's a human like you doing in a place like this…?" Ferham asked with some coldness and curiosity in her voice, as she remembers her commander have banished all of the humans from Giga City.

"Ummm… That's a bit of a long story…" She replied, as she looks at her PETs. Apparently, they agreed not to appear out of the PET, unless they are alone or with their friends. "What am I gonna do?" she asked silently at them.

"I dunno, but if I were you, I might as well tell the truth." Rouge said with honesty, as Spider also have no idea.

"Gee, that was helpful." The brunette said sarcastically.

"And why did you bothered helping me? A reploid?" the dark pink Cadre asked, she rechecks her equipment as she remembers how humanity fears their kind.

However, unknown to most reploids and Spider, the Net Saviour does not belong in this world. The concept of self-aware robots seems similar but quite new for her, as she and Rouge have their run-ins with independent navis. Add to the fact that she sees artificial beings as a part of life, and she shares one or two views about it from her brothers. "Well... I'm not the heartless." she quips.

Ignoring that a human helped her, Fehram stood up and makes away to avenge Epsilon and Scarface's death. But the Net Saviour decides to follow her, just in case.

However... the remaining Cadre couldn't help to think that she have heard that line before.

**:::^*^:::**

After beating some mechaniloids on the way, they enter the only room with a pinkish-purple barrier-like door. Inside is another transporter, which looks less impressive from the one at the other hall. The dark pink reploid steps on the transporter and disappears. Seeing that she'll return at the other transporter, she turns to exit the room... only to hit herself on the purple barrier.

"Ouch..." she winces as she rubs her nose.

"I guess the only way out is thru that transporter." Spider said, seeing the barrier prevented the brunette from leaving.

"It seems like it." Sora replied, as she turns around and hops on it.

"Ah wait-!" but he is cut off when the transporter activates and warps them to where Ferham is. Arriving at the other side, Sora couldn't help to feel sick again as she stumbles off the transporter. "Ugh... this didn't happened much in my CF Form." she groans.

"Ahou." Rouge states as she pops out of her PET and face her partner. "You're expose, of course it will hit you hard."

"What do you mean?" the black navi asked. Rouge explains to him that Sora was using the transporter with her CF form on, which they eventually got used to it. But since she lacks protection from it, the effects are repeated once more.

"Rouge, have you forgotten about the Cache incident?" the brunette reminds her that, as she have ease her nausea and stands up.

"These warps and that are entirely different, Sora!" her female navi retorts, as being transformed into data and transporting from one place to another is different.

"Cache?"

"Long story, Spider." As the Net Saviour quickly follows the dark pink Cadre. It didn't take long for her to spot the Cadre down the halls and runs to her side. Once more, the female reploid is surprise to see the human girl have followed her.

"Why are you following me, shouldn't you suppose to stay behind where it's safe?" Fehram asked coldly, while wondering why a human like her is wandering around this building.

"Can't... I want to find my friends." Sora said, as she shifts her shield and bag on one shoulder and takes out her Buster Pistol with her left hand. Because her R-Buster is adjusted on the left arm on both navi and Cross Fusion, she is better at shooting by the left while her right is good at throwing.

"You'll just get in my way." Fehram said, as she destroys a Redips Guard that came into her sight with her whip.

"But I won't." the brunette answered back cheerily.

'More likely she will…' Rouge thought with her brow twitching. 'But my partner is definitely no foot-stool.'

Still her partner follows Fehram thru the door and there they saw...

"What the-! It's Mach Jentra!" Both Sora and Spider yelped, and then they look at each other.

"You know him?" she asked.

"Once, I was pretending that I was looking for a bounty hunting gig, but I was investigating my brother's Copy Chip if there's anything wrong with it. It was manufactured there." he replied, as the said former rebellion soldier laughs evilly and attacks the two.

"Whoa!" the brunette yelps, as she and Fehram jumps away and the dark pink reploid arms herself. Pretty much his attacks are the same, summoning Preons, Fire-type attacks... the only difference is that he is twice strong, mindless and Sora lacks her Cross Fusion form. Right now, she only got her shield, gun, the anti-Force Metal suit, some mega elementals and the cards that Spider requested to Prof. Gaudille to be made for her.

Charging her shot, she digs in her bag to throw a Mega Ice while the dark pink Cadre attacks him with his whip. Firing at one of the Preons, she takes out a Mega Ice and a Mega Fire as the shot hits the said target and it loses it's saber. The said Preon puts up it's defense as the brunette ignores it for a while and throws the Mega Ice at the fire-type reploid. However, it misses the target as it avoids the whip, and froze the wall instead. Then she quickly arms her shield, to block an attack from a Preon Hybrid and moves back as she shoots at them.

The reploid-navi watches in awe as Rouge navigates her human partner and Sora can fend the two mechaniloids, while assisting Ferham. Although the human girl is in high-risk of getting killed, she does not stand in one place and moves. He thought that the main reason that she is able to fend and survive, is due to her experiences with the Cross Fusion. So even without the said form, her awareness in the battlefield was sharpen and is able to avoid getting hit at all.

Once getting rid of the Preons with her Buster Pistol and the cards, she then throws Mega Ice at the mindless reploid. Causing him to be grounded and allowing Ferham to strike him down with Sonic Blizzard, as the brunette blocks the wide attack with her shield and winces at the force of it. Then she hears an explosion and peeks out to see the mindless reploid have been destroyed. The dark pink Cadre rolls up her whip before looking back at the human girl, who flinch at her cold stare.

'Oi! What's up with the stare?!' Sora thought, as she looks away from her and place her gun back in her holster.

"Stay here." The dark pink Cadre stated firmly, as she walks out of the room.

"Eh? Wait for me!" the brunette shouts, as slings her shield and briskly follows the Cadre. However. the doors quickly closes and then she hears some electric crackles... and that is not a good sign. Skidding to a stop, the door did not open in response and she tries opening it by pulling it apart. "Hey!"

"This is not your fight to begin with." the Cadre states calmly, as she brunette hears her walking away from the door. "You're staying here." and then she hears a faint noise of the warp.

Sensing that the dark pink Cadre have left, the brunette sighs in annoyance and looks around the area. On the other side is another door, she went there and finds it lock. Both navis appears on her sides and looks at her with concern as she looks at the door. "Rouge, can you open this door?" she asked as she picks her partner's PET from her shoulder holster.

"Roger that." she said with a nod.

"Plug-in! Rouge! Transmission!" and a red beam hits the door panel's port. Inside, the navy blue navi makes her way to the lock's program mechanism, but there are a few security programs in the area. Unlike the security navis in the Net Saviour's world, these programs would stick to her like slugs and attempts to delete her. But they are easy to get rid of, as Rouge uses her chain to delete most of them. Once she arrives at the lock program, loads a file in her PET and unlocks the door, she is then plug-out back to her PET. "Great job, Rouge. You don't need any Battle Chips at all in that one." her NetOp teases her.

"The security there is pretty low, if you asked me." the female navi replied with a shrug, as her partner enters and looks around the new area. "Anyway, we better find our way back to that hall."

"Right... now are there any vents in this area?" the brunette mutters as she looks around.

**:::^*^:::**

It didn't take long for her to find the said vent and uses it as a way back to where the transporter is. Rouge took the chance to download the blueprints of the building in her PET, when she was unlocking the door. They found out that they are in the Training Barracks, far from the main building where X and the others are.

Arriving in the area, she kicks the grate out of the way, crawls out and makes a beeline for the transporter. Warping back into the halls, she recovers a bit before heading for the elevator. But she still find it lock and the rooms have their barriers up. "... Okay, last time we're here those barriers were not there." the brunette said, pointing at the three rooms which now have barriers similar to the one she and Ferham went to.

"Hey, you're right." Rouge said as she looks at the rooms. "But why are they back up?"

"Well..." Spider said, jumping out of his PET. "That's how the locking mechanism works for this elevator."

"You mean those four warps acts as locks for this elevator?" the brunette asked the reploid-navi.

"Yep, and it seems Ferham has used this elevator." he said, as he looks at the rooms. "This elevator can only be used once after defeating the mavericks in those four rooms. So if this elevator closes and you're late, you have to go beat those four mavericks to get it open."

"Oookay... that sounds crazy." Rouge stated, as the fact that mechanism of the lock is quite ridiculous. 'Beat four mavericks just to use it, sounds suicidal or murderous if you think of it.'

"I know, but I'm pretty sure that this type of lock mechanism was recently installed. Otherwise, the other hunters would have quite some hard time heading for Redips' office to report or something."

"True."

"Anyway, back to the point." Sora states, as she places her hands on her waist. "We need to catch up with X and the others fast."

"Aye, and the fact that Ferham broke one of the doors in that Training Barracks."

"So there's only one solution to this." the brunette then takes her PET and is about to plug her partner in...

"Oi! Don't forget about me!" Spider shouts, as he place his hands on his hips and looks quite miff at them. "I'm getting bored in here, let me help you." as the reploid-navi does not want to be a foot-stool and do nothing at all.

Both girls looks at one another, then Rouge shrugs a bit as her partner smiles and takes Spider's PET off the holster. "You sure about this?" she asked, as the navified reploid have no experience on being a Net Navi and this will be his first operation with a human partner.

He nods. "Yeah, I don't want to be a spectator in this fight. Uh... can you operate two navis?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have some practice." she quips, as she takes out extra Battle Chips from the bag. Sora have experience on double operating or operating with two navis. It is due to the fact that back in her world, her dad would lend her Rockman in missions that requires two navis but one operator. Right now, she is setting a few Battle Chips that suits the reploid-navi to use. 'I hope I haven't rusted.' she thought and then she plugs both navis in the panel.

******:::^*^:::**

A pair of lights landed on the platform system and the two Net Navis takes form.

"That's... kinda new." Spider utters, as he shakes his dizziness away.

"Well, plug-ins are different from warping." Rouge states, as she pats the black navi on the back to ease his dizzy spell.

"Ugh... Are we in the lock mechanism?" as he recovers a bit.

"Yep." she points at the distance of what looks like a building just a mile away from them. "But this system looks different from the other door I opened before."

"Different?"

"You mentioned that the four warps acts as locks and the only way to open them is to beat all four mavericks." She explains as she looks around, she spots four links connecting to what looks like four red, data towers. "If those tower serves as links to the Training Barracks and the elevator, all we have to do is to change their codes." She then turns to see a confused black navi. "Or in better term, we make them think that we beat all of the mavericks."

"Ah, so we're going to cheat."

"Well, somewhat like that too."

"I'm starting to like this Internet Navigation thing."

"Hey." Sora calls as a small screen appears on their side. "Rouge can you teach Spider how to change the codes?"

"Sure thing!" her partner replied as Spider looks puzzled. "Your programning is still the same, Spider." she explains, and he seems to accept that as he is programed to be a fighting reploid. So pretty much, he have no idea on complex programmings and the likes, he mostly leave those to the scientists, programmers or navigators.

Both navis makes their way to the first tower... and both NetOp and her partner receives a surprise on seeing the security program.

"No way… Laserman!" Rouge shouts and Sora is even bug out on hearing it. There just beside the data tower, is the familiar navi with a huge arc on it's back and guarding the tower... with four more versions of the said Darkloid.

"You know it?" Spider asked, as both girls recognizes the said security program.

"Yeah, Laserman is one of our enemies, he and his operator tried to take over the DA project which causes the viruses to materialize back in our home town. Also, he does not have much of a personality." the female navi explains

"In other words, he's like a puppet on strings." She nods back.

"I don't think that's Laserman, if I remember correctly he have legs." Sora states and it turns out to be true. The said security programs looks quite different from the Darkloid. Like what the brunette said, the programs lacks legs and instead it's waists are sitting on glowing orbs. It lacks the navi icon and the arc on the back seems to vary from size or it was flip upside down. Rouge seems to be thankful that it is just a security program and not an alternate version of the Darkloid.

'Oh wait... Laserman should be a reploid.' she thought, as she remembers that Net Navis don't exist in this world. She arms her buster as Spider manage to call out his cards. "Ready for your first Net Battle?" she asked.

"Hey, this is what I'm program for." he replied.

The two charge at the lock system, as the security program spots their presence and moves to delete the intruder. Both navi strikes first, but the security programs would move up to the walls or set a barrier to protect themselves. Sometimes there are stray viruses getting in the way, but they ended up getting deleted by either the two navis or the security programs. Still, they are initially no match to the two, as their attack patterns are repetitive and they just attacks them head on.

'Well... this is an improvement in security, but still this is so low leveled.' Both Rouge and Sora thought, as the female navi shoots one of the security program and Spider released a rapid fire of cards on another.

After the fight, the navy blue navi shows Spider how to change the code. She place her hand on the tower and data flies up the tower, her eyes flash with data and codes. Then the black navi watches as a few screens with other data opens and closes, the brunette also takes a look on the said lock program. 'I wonder if the lock programs are these big a long time ago, in our world?' the brunette thought, as her partner changes some codes and the tower turns green.

"Sora, we got the first lock open!" Rouge said, as she removes her hand.

"Okay, make way to the other three." Sora replied, then looks at Spider. "Did you learn how to hack like Rouge does?"

"Uh... no" Spider confessed, as he is actually stumped on watching all of the gibberish characters fly up and flash around. He have no idea what to change and what not to change, and seems to decide to let Rouge do the code changing. 'Okay... maybe Net Navigation does not have all of the good perks.' as he rubs his eyes from seeing a lot of gibberish.

"Sorry, I thought you could learn how to hack since you are a navi now." the brunette said, with an apologetic tone and smiling a little.

Then, as they make a quick change of plans and is about to make their way for the next tower... the two towers suddenly turns green, and the ground shakes on the last tower near them. Bewildered on the cyber quake, both navis then hears sounds of attack from the remaining red tower. "Is there anyone else who can hack?" Spider asked the brunette as the ground shakes again.

"I don't know but there is only one way to find out. Head for that red tower."

With a nod, both navis makes a beeline for the last lock.

**:::^*^:::**

Skid to a stop with a bit of distance from the tower, both Rouge and Spider sees a glowing orb fighting against a very huge security program. "Wait... there's a bigger security program?" Spider asked, a bit surprise on seeing a gigantic program defending the last tower.

"Well, there are times programs merge into one when the threat is that high." the female navi said, as she observes the fight. "But this is the first time I see the security programs merging together, usually it's the viruses that merge and turn into giants."

"Head in the game." Sora said, as a screen appears beside them. "Spider, I want you to stay put."

"Eh? Why? Is it because the program is too dangerous?" he asked, the brunette sense the unhappy tone in it.

"No, not that. I just don't want you to get in the way of what we're going to do."

"Oh, so we're busting it out with a bang?" her partner asked.

"Yep."

"Okay then." She shrugs and nears the tower, then she looks back at Spider. "Stay here, you don't want to get hit with this."

'Hit with what?' he thought as the navy blue navi calmly walks toward the big security program. That's when he witness another ability of the Net Navis. He watches as Rouge stops not too far from the target, and then this happens...

"Spread Gun! Triple Slot-in!" the brunette said and then two busters appears on the female navi's arms. Then she raises both arms up, which both resonates at one another and seems to merge. "Program Advance!" both NetOp and Net Navi declare, as the light dies down revealing the new but stronger arsenal. "Hyper Burst!" the said weapon looks bigger than the normal Spread Gun, it have some rods, exhaust ports on the sides and have a long rifle-like barrel. The navi blue navi aims at the security program and fires a very powerful laser, it hit's the target and is deleted from the system.

The navified reploid gapes at that attack. 'Holy crap-! I- Wow... I take back what I said, I'm liking the Net Navigation!' he thought as he quickly closes his mouth and jogs to his friend's side. "Rouge! That is really impressive!" as her buster disappears and looks at the black navi. "Is that programmed in you?"

"That... is called Advance Program." Rouge explains. "It is a combination of three or more Battle Chips, also it's need the synchronization of both Navis and Humans... otherwise, it'll just break up or blow up on someone's face."

"... So I need is an operator who's in synch with me?" he asked.

"Yeah." and he face faults on that as she smiled sheepishly on his down mood. "Ahaha, gomen."

'Then why did you even bother showing that to me?!' he thought, agitated before they turn their attention at the orb which is changing the code of the tower. "Is that thing on our side?"

"I have no clue." the brunette replied as the small screen appears beside them. "But on the bright side, it's opening the elevator."

"Sora, is there anyone who's beating the mavericks?" The navy blue navi asked,

"No... there's no one here with me. And if there is someone trying to beat the mavericks, I would've heard the warp or a reploid would be asking me on how I got in this place. Also, if that is part of the lock program, then why is it being attacked by the security programs?" she points it out.

"Then, is there another NetOp or it's a Net Navi?" the black navi asked.

"Possibly." the brunette quips. 'Or it could be that extraterrestrial navi, cause I don't think anyone would have an orb as a Net Navi.'

But as the orb changes the tower's code... Spider suddenly moves and blocks an attack that is aimed for the orb, before striking back at the assailant . "Spider!" Both Rouge and Sora shouts, as the female navi runs to his side with her buster arms and shooting that the viruses. Due to the two disabling the security program, the viruses gathered around on the last tower and waited till the last anti-virus program is deleted. The female navi got rid of a few viruses, Sora quickly use the Recovery Chip on Spider to fix his damaged side. He recovers a bit and he too retaliates at the viruses, as the orb changes the codes. After getting rid of the viruses, the tower turns green.

With all four of the tower green, the building that they first saw turns white and in the real world, the elevator opens. "Nice job." the brunette quips, then she notices Spider's damaged side. "Ouch, that side of yours still looks bad."

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you got some Recovery Chips to help." Spider quips, as the Net Saviour is about to tell him the difference between the chip and actual repair... the orb suddenly attaches itself on the black navi's side. "What the?! Get off me!" he yelps, before he burst into laughter as the orb tinkers with his programmings. "Argh! Get off! Get off! Get off!"

Both girl's watches amusingly as the navified reploid tries to get the orb that's clinging on his damage side. "Is it dangerous?" Sora asked her partner.

"... I can't tell." Rouge stated truthfully, as the black navi tries to yank the orb off his side. "Might as well help him?"

"I guess so..."

The female navi calmly walks towards the frantic navified reploid, still yanking at the orb. But she notices something different on the position of the orb... 'Wait, that was on his side, now it's near his- Oh crap.' and she quickly makes her way to the black navi. "Hold on, Spider!" she she quickly grabs hold of the orb... only it manages to touch her icon.

Then the next thing they know, the orb shines way too brightly and sets an alarm off the NetOp's head. Suddenly, the two were suddenly push off by a strong force, and the orb disappears. "Rouge! Spider! Are you okay?" the brunette asked worriedly, as the black navi winces and sits up.

"Ugh... What the heck is that?" he asked as he holds his chest.

"How's your icon?"

"Huh... still intact." seeing that there's not a scratch on it and sighs in relief. But he is surprise to see his side completely recovered and patch up. Then he looks at Rouge, who's not far from him and sees her entire body glowing. "Is she okay?"

"Actually..." the brunette stated as her partner's form changes. Then several small screens appears and circles above her, then one more appears as the navy blue navi returns back to normal. On Rouge's PET, Sora watches as screens open and closes and then her navi special program opens, showing a newly added item in it. 'Wait... Did that orb just...?' he thought is cut off when she heard her partner groan. "Rouge, are you okay?"

"Ugh..." the female navi wince as she sits up. "What rammed on me?" as Spider makes his way to her and helps her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." as she looks at herself and then at her programmings... and there she spots the said item. "Huh?"

"Is it bad?"

"Not exactly, it's more like..." as she looks at her partner and she confirms it with a smile. "Oh wow. It's seems I gain something new." Rouge said and looks at Spider, who seems confuse and worried at the same time. "Don't worry, it's quite of an odd way on how I gain friends."

Seeing that she's still okay, the navis returns to their PETs and Sora congratulates Spider on his first net battle. In respond, the reploid-turned-navi blushes at it and thank her as they board the elevator.

Meanwhile...

"This is not the fight for someone like her to get involve in... Then again, I've seen how her determination and trust overcome all the obstacles." The orb floats a bit in the system, watching as both navis plug out before taking shape of an armored figure and smiles. "Don't goof off this time, partner."

The figure then looks up at the system's sky. "I'm trusting your judgement on this." as the figure dissolves into data, knowing that the brunette and her partner have the ability to stop this fight.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving at the new floor, she runs down the corridor and then grabs her shield to block an incoming attack, it's a pair of those cannon mechaniloids... or Cannon Drivers as Spider identified. She charges her buster and takes aim, as she takes an item out of her bag. Thinking she'll strike them with a charge shot, the Cannon Driver charges at her… Only to get hit by a pair of Mega Thunders in front of them, and released the charged shot to finish them off. The navified reploid eyes widen quite a bit by Sora's action, she just threw a bunch of explosives at them and a full charged shot.

'Holy crap… I'm glad she's on our side.' Spider thought out of surprise, seeing that she is capable on fending against mechaniloids. Now, he wonders how strong she'll be if she manage to fix her Synchro Chip and Cross Fuse… they'll become scrap metal for sure.

Meanwhile, Rouge is less surprise at this since her partner did gain those skills out of the Cross Fusion. Then she detects an item and spots weird-looking like buster on the floor that the enemy dropped. "Sora, there's a buster on the floor." she notifies her NetOp, as the brunette place her gun back on her holster.

Sora looks at the said buster and picks it up. She finds it familiar looking and spots the engraved letters inside the arm slot. "X-BUSTER MK-III…" Sora states as she recites it from the label.

"Then that's a buster upgrade is for X." Rouge said, appearing on her NetOp's shoulder with Spider also looking at the buster. Nodding at her friends, she then packs the buster and then sets off to find her friends, hoping to reach them in time.

Unfortunately, they run into some bad luck once more as they encounter more mechaniloids and Redips' personal guards.

"ARGH! Back, you stupid thing! Back I say!" the brunette shouts as she eliminated another Cannon Driver with the cards. "Dang… And I think I overused the pistol and the shield is… totally mutilated." She added as she noticed that the gun is still hot in her holster, and the shield is somewhat twisted and bent thanks to several attacks that it blocked. Also her suit got burn marks on some places but it seems to be okay. And so she throws her shield away and hopes that there are no more maverick popping out to kill her.

As they make their way down the hall and is about to enter the next room...

Crash!

Thud!

BOOM!

Both NetOp and Net Navis jumps on the noise in the said room, they look at one another before opening the door.

"Whoa!" Sora yelped and ducks an incoming lightning attack. "What the hell is that?" Then she flinches when something lands way too close on her side, but she relaxes a bit and worries on seeing who it is. "Cinnamon!" she exclaims

Hearing that familiar voice, the blonde nurse reploid quickly sits up and sees the human girl. "So-sora?!" she gasped out of shock to see her here..

"Yo… Um, is it a bad timing?" the brunette asked casually, as she gets up and helps the blonde. Looking at the fight between Massimo and Marino against a huge fish mechaniloid, with a half knight body on the back and is able to cast lighting on them.

"Uh, well yes… but, what are you doing here?" the blonde nurse reploid asked, as she makes sure any stray attacks does not hit her friend.

"Duh, aiding you guys and kicking maverick butts? You know I don't like to be left behind." Sora stated, as Rouge appears from her PET and scans the enemy.

"Oh… X is not going to like this." the nurse reploid whined a bit, as she shakes her head while the Net Saviour smiles sheepishly on that. Then Sora notice that X, Zero and Axl are missing, she asked about that and her friend just told her that they went off to face Redips by themselves.

"I see." The Net Saviour utters, as her partner finishes with her analyst. The female navi states that their foe is weak against fire, and she asked if they have any fire-type weapons. The nurse reploid states that only Marino have her Twin Fire sub weapon. Seeing that they can fend against the fish maverick, the brunette gave most of the Mega Fires to Cinnamon. "Take these, I'll be heading off to find them."

"But-But!" Cinnamon protested, as the fact that the brunette lacks her CF form.

"Don't worry…" the brunette said, holds the nurse's hand for reassurance and smiles at her with a pair of cards glowing on her other hand. "I'll be fine, okay?" With that, she dashes into the fray and threw the pair of cards at the side of the enemy. Both Massimo and Marino are surprise to see her, as the nurse reploid throws the Mega Fire to distract the enemy away from the brunette.

'Good luck, Sora…' Cinnamon thought, as Sora enters the elevator.

"Don't tell me that's Sora." Marino asked the nurse reploid, as she is quite shock to see their human friend. But all the nurse reploid could do is to smile sheepishly and shuffles nervously. "Oh dang it." realizing that their human friend is either that confident or an idiot.

**:::^*^:::**

The door opens and it didn't surprise her on the corpses of the mechaniloids, littered in the halls. She notices that there are lack of enemies in area, but she keeps her guard up with her gun and carefully walks thru it. As she cautiously walks and make sure that there are no security cameras, they first check the halls on the side and only sees dead ends.

Then she hears something…

"Huh?" She utters at the noise, before she sticks herself to the wall and creeps slowly to a open room to takes a peek. And there she finally saw X, Zero, Axl, and a slightly beaten Redips in a wide office. "Hey, it's them." she whispered, as they remain on guard in case the colonel does something off.

"Yeah… should we enter and tell them the whole truth?" Rouge asked and the brunette thinks.

"Hmmm… I think I got a better idea." Sora said and takes Spider's PET off it's holster. "Hey, are you ready to face your brother?"

And Spider just gave her a look of 'How-can-you-do-that?'.

**:::^*^:::**

"Who could've guess that Colonel Redips was a Maverick." Axl stated, guns ready and pointed at the colonel.

"Damn it." Zero snarled, taking a few steps forward. "What were we fighting for?"

"For everything, my Maverick Hunters." Redips answered, as his body sparks and his repair system works on overdrive. "For your new ruler."

"No." Zero shouted, "We lost R...and Spider...for this lousy creep!"

The Hunters looked at Redips as he laughs, wondering what was so funny for him. Unknown to them, a small thing rolls into the room and stops behind the Hunters. "Ah Spider." the colonel sighed, then glowed brightly, identical to when Axl glows when he uses his Trans Ability.

"Wha-" Zero's eyes widen in shock. "This...this can't be real!"

"My ears are burning." Spider-Redips said, standing before them in Redips' place as the three hunters froze in shock at this revelation. "You're talking about me?"

"I...Impossible!" Zero shouts, as he takes a step back.

"Not impossible at all." Spider-Redips lifted a card. "Here I am-ARGH!" Another card is thrown at his card in his hand and explodes. He held his injured arms as the hunters turns to see... shock and surprise came to their faces once more, to see another Spider by the doorway.

"You know, you're a real lousy brother, killing and stealing my DNA just to fool them?" the Other Spider said.

"Huh?" Zero said in confusion as X and Axl looks back and forth, incredulously, at the two look-alikes. But they now know, that Spider is related to the former colonel and he is not happy with the latter's stunt he pulled.

"Impossible, I thought I already disposed of you." Redips said as he transforms back in his default looks.

"Well, let's just say, lady luck is on my side." Spider stated and tilts his head a little to take a glimpse of his human partner, stifling a laugh.

"I must say," Redips said, clearly is displease that he didn't do a through job of ridding his nosy brother. He then ignores him and looks at the Hunters. "It's been exhausting playing buddy-buddy with you dumbasses. And I'm surprise to know that you still live, brother." he mocks at his Spider, who kept his cool but his guard is up. "All these was needed for my ideal, for Supra Force Metal. I'm not a bad actor, eh?"

"That ability is the same as mine." Axl shakes his head, he didn't found what he is looking for but he found someone like him. The bad news was that he was a Maverick, and Spider hears Sora muttering about crazy obsess, Hitler, megalomaniacs and so on, thru his PET.

"You foolish Maverick Hunters didn't realize it." Redips turned and headed to an emergency transporter. "But Supra-Force Metal can boost my shape-changing abilities...and increase my power to unimaginable levels, taking me beyond all others!"

"No!" X shouts as the device activated and Redips is warped away. They ran after him but stopped when they notice Zero and Spider wasn't coming.

"Hey, are you okay?" Spider asked the red hunter before he turns and reels back his fist.

"Don't you know how much we grieved for you!" the blonde hunter shouts as he punch at the bounty hunter... only to phrase thru and fell flat on the floor.

"What the?" Axl said in shock as he and X saw how the punch passes thru him like a ghost, and Zero is equally freak out.

"Ummm... Yeah, I can explain that." Spider said and looks at the door. "You can come in now."

The three hunters are quite shock when the brunette, human girl that Marino rescued, came in the room with a small device on one hand. X and Zero are shock to see her here, while Axl is quite surprise to see her armed with equipments like the gun on her side.

"Um… Hey." Sora said sheepishly as Spider chuckles at the awkwardness. "Not funny, Spider."

"Sorry." he apologizes as she kneels down and picks a round thing, about the size and thickness of a hockey puck. She points the said device on it and Spider disappears, then a smaller and sleeker version of him jumps out of the said device. "Hey! I'm here!" he shouts, as the brunette turns the round thing off.

'Looks like this mini projector did the trick.' she thought, as she packs it back in the bag and place the PET on the holster.

'H-holy fish sticks!' Axl thought in amazement, as his two comrades are quite speechless on seeing their friend like that. 'She turned Spider into a net navi!'

"Sp-spider?" X stutters on finding his voice, as Sora keeps herself from laugh out loud on his reaction.

"What's going on?" Zero demands and looks at the human girl. "And why is she here? It's too dangerous for a human to be here."

"Huh…" Spider said, knowing he'll get quite a 'talk' from the red hunter.

"Hey, I'm the one who decided to come here to help you guys on beating that jerk." Sora said, seems to be upset and glares at the blonde, who is quite surprise on seeing such determination in her eyes.

"But it's too dangerous, you might get hurt or worse killed." Axl said, he then looks away when his sister glares at him.

"Hey, I manage to get here right?" She asked, a bit cheekily as she walks around them and stops near the transporter. "I'll see you guys on the final stage!" she said cheerily and jumps into the device.

"Ah! Wait!" X shouts, but he is too late to stop her as she disappears.

**:::^*^:::**

"That… that was kinda mean, Sora." Spider said as she runs down the hall and shoots at the mechaniloids in the way.

"Well, someone has to tell them that I'm not that helpless... it's really getting annoying you know." the brunette replied, before she sees a bunch of mechaniloids in a room she just run in. "Well, your brother is off his rockers, like some others I met before."

"Eh?" Spider said as an incredulous look is etch on his face.

"Don't mind it." She replied at him and aims her gun as she charges it. Then she releases a charge shot and throws a few cards at them. They got destroyed in a explosion when the cards and charged shot connects, which built quite a thick smoke. Sora then runs out of it while covering her face from the smoke. "Well… that did it." She said, while coughing.

"Did it? Sora! You almost got yourself killed!" Rouge shouts at her NetOp, visibly upset at the stunt her partner did.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Sora yelps, as she takes her PET from her armlet."But on the bright side: card and charge shot, not a very good combination when you don't have a shield."

"Sora..." the female navi grounds out, still upset with her arms cross. "I may support you, as that is what Net Navis do. But when there are things that can endanger your life, that's is when I draw the line!"

"Oh great, have you turn into my aunt lately?" Sora said with a bit of act to add with the drama.

"Oh ha, ha, now can we go? We might not stop that jerk on his evil plan if we're late."

"Okay, okay, we're going." Sora said lightly as she snap her PET back on her holster. She then came into a room where there is a transporter, she have Rouge scans the warp device and came back positive that Redips used this. The thing is… it is set on a space station in space. "Oh wow… I guess I should be thankful that Gaudile informed me that this suit made to endure in deep ocean."

"Meaning?" Spider asked, as she rummages in her back and takes out the collapsible helmet and a oxygen attachment to it.

"It means, I can breathe in space." as she puts it on and tucks the long hair tail in the helmet. She made sure that it is stable before adding the attachment, as the navified reploid gawks.

'What the hell is that damn duck thinking?' the black navi thought in shock, but he eases up a bit. 'But it seems a little reasonable... as we're going to fight against my brother in outer space." She then jumps into the transporter when she hears some voices.

**:::^*^:::**

She blinked…

She does it again and looks around.

"Huh, Sora, you realize that this place is a bit dark." Rouge said and the brunette turns to find some windows showing Earth and the outer space. "Also, it seems there are no security in this place." after scanning the area, as the brunette moves to look at the view of the Earth.

'... So similar.' she thought, before looking around for the said comet of the alien navi.

"And my idiot brother is just straight ahead." Spider quipped, after making a scan of his own and crosses his arms.

"I see. And you're learning fast Spider." the brunette said, as she turns to looks at the black navi with an encouraging smile. "Now let's-" but she is cut off when something blue appears from the transporter followed by a red and dark blue.

"Sora!" X shouts as he and his friends quickly makes their way to her. "Are you okay?" he asked, obviously nervous and worried about her.

"Yeah... I'm fine." She said and decided to head down the hall, when Zero blocks her.

"That's enough. This is strictly Maverick Hunter business and I can't let you pass." the blonde said sternly and she just look at him. "Axl!" the young hunter almost rebooted on the sudden snap from the red hunter. "You'll stay here and watch her."

"Eh?" Axl whined loudly. Although he didn't mind watching his sister, he really wants to get back at that maverick. "But-"

"No buts, kid. That maverick have to pay for fooling us, but we can't do it when-"

"Ack! Sora! Stop!" the blue hunter yelps and the two quickly turns their attention back at the human girl, who is about halfway down the hall.

"Sora... If X is human, you're going to give him a heart attack." the black navi states out, as she smiles sheepishly at that.

"What is wrong with this girl?" Zero shouts, as they chases after her down the hall, then they climbed the hatch that she climbed into. Inside is a circular yellow room, and not far from the hatch is Sora with her Buster Pistol out and charging. Her eyes are glaring on the figure above, integrated into a big machine with the two Supra Force Metals just right above him in a dome.

The hunters takes a better look on the figure… it's Redips, he is out of his armor and installed himself in the mechanism.

"Sora…" Spider states. "I think we should let them handle this, those Supra Force Metal are too dangerous."

"Spider is right." Rogue whispered. "Let them handle this and provide back-up instead."

Sora looks at her PETs and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be extra careful." she whispered back, but that didn't put them at ease.

"Sora, we should-" X said, then the hatch closes, shut tight. The Hunters tries to open it but it wouldn't budge.

"Too late." Spider said as he appears out of his PET.

"Kneel down before your master." Redips commands.

"Redips." X shouts as he moves the girl behind him, not wanting her to get hurt. "You manipulated us so you can get your hands on Supra-Force Metal, didn't you?"

'Um… duh?' Sora thought of the obvious as her partner checks the machine Redips is attached to.

"You're right." the former colonel confirmed. "You know how well Epsilon hides things. So I took advantage of your top notch abilities as Maverick Hunters."

Axl and Zero takes a step forward at that while they shield the human girl. "Epsilon's ideas were dangerous." X states. "He knew all along that the use of Supra-Force Metal involved the possibility of turning Maverick. But at least he...was better than you! At least he wasn't a Maverick from the start! Redips… you're crazy!" and aims his buster at him.

"Didn't Epsilon tell you?" he chuckled. "Only future generations will judge whether we are Maverick or not. It is only natural that reploids seek to evolve by improving their abilities. Evolve to rule the universe."

"Oh wow… megalomaniac to the high degree." Sora mumbled, the two navis can't help but to nod at that. 'Still he is nothing compare to a certain extraterrestrial navi... And I still don't like him.' as she shiftily looks away.

"The universe." the blue hunter exclaims, then the room began shaking as the maverick laughed.

"Surprised?" he asked. "But why should you be, my young subjects? You'll be the first to witness the divine miracle, even that pathetic human behind you." he laughs as the Supra-Force Metal shot a bolt of golden energy down, right on Redips and covers him in a white glow. The Hunters and Sora covers their eyes as they heard explosions and then felt something cold. The young reploid quickly grabs hold of his sister and made sure that she is not blown off. Once the light died down and lower their arms, Zero and Axl took a step back at what they saw. Even Spider and Rouge nearly floated off, if it weren't for the Sora holding on his PET tightly and for the holster.

"Frankly, I kinda like to see the Earth in space view... but without the fighting." Sora said to the navis, once she did went into outer space when chasing Dr. Regal and it was thanks to Yaito (although, she disliked her back when they were in elementary).

Floating above the destroyed room stood a large reploid with only an upper body, the lower part nothing but a spine/cord-like tail. The upper half was huge with large, long arms and claws and a golden circle on its backside. It had little arms close to its chest and it had a long neck, with the face of Colonel Redips on it. On his shoulders are the two huge pieces of Supra-Force Metal, glowing brightly and rotating slowly around. X aimed his buster at him as the Maverick flared out his arms menacingly.

"I shall rule over all." Redips shouted. "For I am invincible. MORTALS!"

"Time to fight, give me aid you guys." Sora said and charges her gun.

"Try not to get yourself killed." her partner replied.

"Ditto." the black navi quips.

The huge maverick lunges that them and the four avoids it quick, but X screamed when he was hit by an electric attack.

"X!" Sora shouts and release a charge shot at Redips, it hits but it did not do much damage at all. "What?"

"Sora! The metals have come to life on their own!" her partner shouts in alert. "They can literally protect and attack for him!"

"Oh! Of all the…" but she is cut off by Spider.

"Sora! Plug me in my brother's system!" he shouts and she looks at the navified reploid. "Trust me! I've learned a lot and I have a plan!"

"… Okay, but come back intact, okay?." She said as she takes the black PET off it's holster. "Now for the plug-in port…" she looks around as she avoids getting hit from the attack, ducking into a debris for cover. She had Rouge scan for the port, and she finds it… right in the eye of the maverick. "They never made it easy do they?" she asked as Spider shrugs at that.

She needs a temporary distraction, so she can get her friend into his brother's system. That chance came to her when Zero manages to slam his head down, hard. She quickly jumps out of her cover and quickly points the PET at the said port. "Plug-in! Spider!" she shouts, a red beam hit's the eye of the maverick and successfully transported him in.

"All right!" Sora cheered.

"Look out!" Axl shouts and pushes her out of the way, he then receives the electrical shocks and fell on his knees.

"Axl!" she shouts and takes out her card... only to find a few remaining as she have used some of it on mechaniloids, in order not to overheat her gun. "Crap, again with the all or nothing." she muttered and throws them one by one at Redips, who merely laughs on her attempts

**:::^*^:::**

Inside, Spider landed safely in the system and he stand to see the whole system of his brother. The place is in deep purple color and has a lot of jagged data, way too dangerous if one falls. But Spider felt an intense energy and nearly kneels down when the floor shook.

'Redips' Spider thought and he runs deeper into the system. He plans to get the Supra-Force Metal off him and the only way to do that is to hack into his brother's system. Still, he have no idea on how to change the codes, but it wouldn't hurt to try instead of being stuck in the PET. Rouge already got a job of guiding her partner thru this fight already.

'Stop this already, you're not like this before.' As memories of their past came playing into his mind.

He began remembering the time when he first met him, for a new born he is quite smart. He spends his time with him, learning, improving and copying other reploids. He constantly worries for him when he test and experiments on the Force Metals. Then Spider left to explore the world and make it big... that's why he took bounty hunting maverick for quick easy money. He rarely have any contact with his family and Spider has no clue on what's going on, that's probably the thing the former bounty hunter realizes and regrets…

He wasn't there for his family, he wasn't there to draw the line when he went too far.

'I'm so sorry...'

**:::^*^:::**

"Guys!" Sora shouts as Redips laughed at the Maverick Hunters, who either laid on the ground or were on their knees, their bodies sparking a bit. She rushes toward them, skids to a stop between them and points the gun at the maverick.

'Sora!' Axl thought painfully and tries to stand to get her out of the way. Not only the maverick have gotten stronger but with keeping the brunette girl safe, there focus is divided.

"Weaklings." Redips states with glee, as the brunette just glared at him with her buster pistol charging. "Do you feel it? The ultimate power. The power of creation!"

"More of the power of subjugation, dumbass." Sora snarled as X slowly got back to his feet with a groan as the Federation traitor laughed some more.

"That's because we're reploids, far more superior to humans like you and those ancient relics behind you." he stated smugly, before turning his head to the blue planet. "And this very Earth is nothing but a tiny speck, one which I shall rule with an iron fist!"

"Not if we have something to say about it." Sora stated as she shoots while Redips laughed at her futile attack. Then he lifts a hand and fired a laser beam at her.

"Look out!" X shouts and quickly covers her. He is hit on the back and fell back onto the ground, while making sure the human girl is okay.

"X!" Sora shouts in worry, as she crawls out of his grip and looks to see if the azure hunter is okay.

"Bow down feeble subjects." Redips ordered, as he smugly looks down on them.

"Huh?" Zero heard something and looked up to see Ferham just behind Redips shoulders, right on one of the Supra-Force Metal. She tries to pull the Force metal off but it is extremely attach to him. She is spotted and Redips knocks her to the ground with a laser… with the Supra Force Metal along. Ferham clutches on the metal tightly to her as she endures the pain.

"Why you!" Redips roars but as he tries to reach her, someone threw a Mega Ice right on his face.

The pink reploid's eyes widens when she saw the human girl, again aiding her. "You…" she said and Sora smiled at her.

"Hey, I'm not that heartless at all." she said, Ferham's eyes widens as she realizes who Sora is and smiled. Then they turn to see the huge hand is about to hit them when… "Ack!" the brunette yelped, when the pink reploid grabs her, throws her along with the metal aside and receives the hit.

"No! Ferham!" Sora shouts. The hunters eyes widens upon seeing the female Cadre's self-sacrifice for the brunette. But she just smiled and looks at the brunette, then mouthed something to her.

"Thank you… Rouge." She whispered as her whole body glowed and explodes. Sora rolls on the ground before laying flat on the floor while the hunters falls flat down to avoid the shockwave. After the explosion, Redips did not get much damage but is still angry on losing the other Supra Force Metal. He sets his sights in the brunette girl who still have it.

"No way…" Sora whispered as the maverick regains his balance from the blow. "Ferham… you're welcome."

"Sora… the metal." Rouge said, appearing on her shoulder and points at the huge thing. "We better do something before it affects you."

"Right." she replied and got up, she then heads to the hunters to see if they are okay but… "Guys, are you- ACK!" she yelps when a laser beam almost hits her.

"Sora!" X shouts in alarm and quickly dashes to the human girl. He quickly carried her out of range... but he sees a small hologram of their friend on her shoulder, looking frantic and worried for the girl. "Rouge?"

'Oh… crap.' Rouge thought, forgetting about the fact that they met them in their Cross Fusion mode and the only ones who knows about this is Cinnamon and Marino. "Um… hey?" she greeted them with awkwardness.

'Shoot.' Sora thought, as she notices a warning in her helmet. 'Oh crap-tastic, my oxygen is getting low!' Then she saw something else… on one far corner, just near the edge, she saw the cloak man just standing right over there. She is not surprise that he's in outer space, still thinking that he is one of Duo's probes. 'Oh great, if he's here, then is this the final test for these guys?' she thought, but he points at the Supra-Force Metal. Wondering what he's indicating at, as he once more points at the metal... then points at one of her pockets.

'What?' she thought as the man sternly points at the pocket. Getting the message, she fishes in her pocket to pick out her broken Synchro Chip. 'What is he…?' she thought, when... she yelps when the azure hunter suddenly threw her away from getting hit by Redips' attack. "X!" she shouts in alarmed, as he barely dodge it.

"Sora!" Axl shouts, as he catches and carries her as far away from the maverick... but is hit by the shock. Both screamed in pain and the maverick laughs as he reaches for the other metal.

"No! Sora! Axl!" Zero shouts and attacks the arm before it could reach them. It stops… but Redips began feeling something really weird inside.

**:::^*^:::**

"Damn it!" Spider shouts and deletes another anti-virus program. "Stop hurting them!" and throws a royal flush at some data above him. He then jumps inside and dashes to find the lock program for the metal. Right now, he's going for the only option that the female navi recommend only to use as a last ditch effort...

To delete the program.

While looking for their friends, Rouge did mention about it. But the chances are 50-50 as it will either glitch or shut down.

And right now, it is the only option he got.

**:::^*^:::**

Bubbles erupts from a strange material that laid under the ocean. It then moves and shot itself out of the water.

**:::^*^:::**

Then... it happen.

The Synchro Chip and the Supra-Force Metal glowed at one another, as if they are familiar to one another. Unknown to the others, a symbol glowed on Sora's and Axl's chests. Strings came out attaching themselves to one another as the Synchro Chip attaches itself on the metal.

And then a bright light erupts when the chip and metal merges. X and Zero yelps at the sudden brightness and covers their eyes, as 'Great' Redips just stared on what's going on. When the light slowly disappeared, Sora and Axl are still there like nothing happened.

"What was that all about?" Zero asked, as he tries to remove the brightness in his eyes.

"Man, that was bright." Axl mutters, a bit sore and seeing spots but thankful that his sister is safe and unharmed. As the brunette rubs her eyes and looks around, she suddenly notice that the Supra-Force Metal is missing in her arms. She looks for the said metal, when she felt something small in her hand. She then looks at her fist hand and opens it, she almost squealed… almost.

In her hand is the fixed silver-white chip, with a blue, no longer red, orb on it.

It's the Synchro Chip.

'The Synchro Chip… is fixed.' She thought with shock and joy. Now she got the means to fight back but that would risk revealing the other half of her identity. 'Meh, they already know me as a human, X also have seen Rouge with me… So I got nothing to hide.'

"Are you guys okay?" X asked and then looks at Sora with more concern. "You have done enough now, find a place to hide and leave this to us."

"I don't think so, X. I'm still helping you whether you like it or not." Sora said with determination, as she places her bag down and picks her partner's PET out of the armlet. "Synchro Chip! Slot-in!" Sora said, slotting in the fixed Synchro Chip. "CROSS FUSION!" Both Sora and Rouge shouts, as a light wraps around her and causes them to the raise their arms to cover their eyes once more.

"Sora!" X shouts in alert and tries to reach for her.

'The Synchro Chip is fixed?' Axl thought before he realizes that she wasn't carrying the Force Metal. "Could it be…?" he whispered as X tries to reach for her and he manages to grab her arm.

When the light faded, X lowers his arm, refocusing his optics and looks to see if the girl is okay. To his surprise, he is holding the arm of their friend, CF Rouge. "Rouge?" he said and let go of her arm. "How...?"

CF Rouge just chuckles a bit before taking in some air from her mask, then she removes it to reveal her face to them. "Actually, Rouge is the name of my partner." She corrected the blue hunter who is in shock to see Sora in Rouge's form. "Sorry guys, that I didn't tell you about this. I have no clue on how you'll react, you know." She then gazes at Redips as seeing the light did not faze him and attacks them with Deus Ex Machina.

Seeing this, she quickly grabs her bag, X and Axl, and uses Area Steal to avoid the debris being thrown at them. 'Whoa! The chip response is faster! And it reacts without me saying the name out loud!' she thought, as they reappear just beside Zero, who is surprise to see the navy blue reploid here with them. "We'll talk about this after we beat him." as she looks in her bag for the said buster part she found for X.

"Rouge..." the red hunter said but he stops in shock when he saw her face.

"It's Sora, Zero." she replied with a smile, as she puts her mask back on to breathe. Even though X wanted to protect the girl, he still can't believed that Sora and Rouge are the same person. "Oh, by the way, I got this for you." CF Rouge said, handing the blue hunter the X-BUSTER MK-III. X gave her a look that says 'don't jump in, this fight is only about reploids', but CF Rouge ignored it and helps X equip his new buster. They then looked at the maverick, who looks like he's going to be sick.

"Whoa, I bet that was Spider's doing." Rouge said and her partner smiled, before they quickly dodge an incoming arm at them. "Still, he's not that completely weak because of that."

"True." she replied.

"By the way, do- Sora! Incoming!" her partner shouts in alert, and the brunette looks down to see the glowing ground. Immediately she jumps out of the way of a Mega Fire... only to be grab by the maverick himself.

"Sora!" Axl shouts in alert, seeing his sister being grasp by the maverick's giant claw-hand.

"I'll take back what his mine!" the former colonel shouts and crushes the girl in his fist, as he sense the energy of the Supra-Force Metal is still with her

"NO!" X shouts and quickly shoots at the maverick, only to be block by the barrier the other Supra-Force Metal provided for the former colonel.

The maverick merely laughs at his attempts to save the girl, as he tightens his fist more... and then he yelps in pain, when a blue energy beam erupts from the said fist and then it slice the claw fingers. He grits his teeth as the hunters watches the girl stands up with a beam saber in her hand. She gave him a look and then arms her saber but to Axl's knowledge, it's actually the Dream Sword. She then throws the said energy beam, but he barely avoid it and got the ring on his back cut. The Net Saviour activates her booster and flies off, before the other hand slams on her like a bug swatter.

'Sugoi!' she thought at the chips upgrade.

"Sora, do you remember the odd feeling that replenish our CF form? It's the Supra-Force Metal!" Rouge states as her partner flies away from the maverick. "It seems the Cross Fusion is able to turn and use it's energy to substantiate without the Dimensional Area."

Landing back on the ground have a bit of difficulty, mainly because they are in outer space. But she manage to get her footing down, when the young hunter moves and helps her. The other two hunters rush to CF Rouge's side and to see if she's okay, which she replies that she's fine... but then she pauses for a moment and then is talking to herself?

"Yep, but it's really a waste to use that Dream Sword there... Hey, it's a point-blank range... I'm reserving those for later... Okay." she said as she is looking away from them.

"Uh... Sora, are you damaged?" X asked with concern.

"Nope!" she replies to him.

"Then why are you talking with yourself?" Zero asked.

"Oh you mean that, well..." then an idea came to her, she first discusses it to Rouge to which she agrees to it. Meanwhile, the hunters looks at her with concern once more, except for Axl who knows how the Cross Fusion functions. With a nod, the brunette then looks at them. "Can you you guys stand still for a second?" then she taps on the their crystal on their helmets, with glows a for second in contact.

At first, they wondered what she did when... "Hey, can you hear me?" a unfamiliar voice is heard thru their com links.

"Huh?" the red hunter said in confusion, as he have no idea who this is.

"Sorry about that, but I'm Rouge, Sora's partner and her net navi." the voice explains.

"Wait, so you're the real Rouge?"

"Well... it's hard to explain while we're here, Zero." she replies, then. "But we'll explain it after this and DUCK!"

Hearing that, CF Rouge quickly grabs the shoulder of X and Zero and pushes them down to the ground. The young hunter also follows the Net Navi's warning, as he sees the incoming claw and immediately avoids it. Then they jumps away from the second claw and the Supra-Force Metal's Mega Thunder, and lands not too far from the edge of the station. "Okay... you've heard my partner, explanation later, fight now." the Net Saviour stated, to which the red hunter nods at.

"Okay, but you have to explain yourself later." X reprimands the brunette, as he points his buster at the former colonel.

Battle starts once more and this time, they got an advantage. Firstly, they got a navigator which analyzes and alerts them on incoming attacks. X and Zero activates their second Hyper forms, Ultimate Armor and Absolute Zero, they didn't use it on the first fight because of it's high energy consumption and the Supra-Force Metal constantly healing Redips. Axl is also in his hyper form, Stealth Mode, while CF Rouge is using every battle chip she got and the Program Advances if she gets the chance. But it seems they can't get a clear hit because of the barrier or he manages to avoid their attacks, still there are chances they manage to hit the Supra-Force Metal which causes the maverick to lose his shield. Also only time the maverick manages to land a hit on their teammates is on X, who took the hit for the Net Saviour. But the 'Great' Redips is getting frustrated and uses an attack called Codebreaker, it's a powered-up swipe that inflicts DOA.

"Area Steal!" CF Rouge said, and she vanish from sight. X and Zero only got a damage but a not a serious one, due to their Hyper forms. Axl manage to evade it, since he is in Stealth mode and give cover fire for his friends.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked the two with concern.

"Yeah, we're still fine!" X replied back as he shoot back and the blonde hunter charges at the maverick, only to meet with a barrier which the Supra-Force Metal revive once more.

"Oh come on!" Zero yells as he begins to hit and slash at the barrier, out of frustration.

"Sora! Rouge! Are you both okay?" Spider called by using the net, as he is busy fighting his way to the program that holds the Force Metal.

"Yeah, we're fine, Spider… and are those fighting sounds?" CF Rouge asked, as Redips seems to stagger a bit. X, Zero and Axl returns back into their normal armors, since they have reached it's limits.

"Uh yeah, I'm trying to reach for the Force Metal lock program, so I can release that thing from him." Spider said and she hears a loud bashing sound. "And apparently, his security program are annoying me!"

The female Net Savior just chuckled with amusement, before avoiding another Codebreaker and jumping away. "I'll talk to you later, I'm a little busy too, ya know?" she then cuts off the communication and does the Program Advance. "Wide Shot! Triple Slot-in!" CF Rouge said, as a wide and semi-circular buster forms on her left arm.

"Super Wide!" she said and shoots a shot at 'Great' Redips, which is impossible to avoid due to the width of the shot. Unfortunately, he tilts to the side, misses the body by just a few inches and shot one of it's big arms off. "I miss." She quips in annoyance and jumps away from an incoming attack.

"Sora, I think we only have three battle chips remaining." Rouge noted, as CF Rouge grunted at it but suddenly remembers something. "Hey, didn't I gain a new armor from Spider?"

"… Wait, that's it! Thanks Rouge!" CF Rouge cheers and took a deep breath, as holographic screens appears around her and chooses one of them. "A.R.M.O.R. Change! Gamble Armor!" she said, and a light wraps around her and when it died, she appears in a tuxedo-like armor suit with a red tie, a tall top hat and a long dark blue tail. "… To be honest, this looks like…" She said, looking at her new armor that fits on her body.

"Wow… well the power is normal and so is defense, but the speed, agility and accuracy is really high." Rouge said. True, both girls feels it to be a lot more different from the usual armors they get, a little stronger and more durable since she inherit this armor from her reploid-turn-navi friend.

**:::^*^::::**

Spider is has reached the program that locks the other Supra Force Metal on. He then proceeds disabling the lock by attacking it, which alerts some security programs and immediately went there to protect it. But the black navi continues to strike the lock mechanism down, while avoiding or deleting some of the security programs. As he does so, he takes a glimpse on the battle outside...

His mouth just fell on the sight of a female brunette version of himself, throwing cards and using a lot of arsenals on Redips with the hunters. "S-sora? Ro-rouge?" he stuttered at the sight. 'Wait, then the orb just...?'

**:::^*^:::**

"Eat this!" Axl shouts, as he and X fires at him and Zero dashes forward to deliver an uppercut slash.

"Three of a Kind!" CF Rouge shouts and threw three powered cards of the same suit with two more cards following behind. As they hit his face, she runs around to and takes cover behind some rocks… when she notices that the remaining Metal is slightly wobbling.

"Hey…" she said with a smug smirk behind her mask.

"Spider got it." Rouge said and she knows what her partner is thinking.

**:::^*^:::**

"Almost there…" Spider said, as he kept attacking the mechanism and with one last strike, the lock broke into pieces and a sign of delete appears. "I got it!"

**:::^*^:::**

As 'Great' Redips is distracted on the fact that the other Supra Force Metal falls off his shoulder, CF Rouge quickly takes out five cards. In her hand is a Spade 10, Jack, King and a Heart 3, and 8. She remove the two hearts and prays for lady luck to give her Spade Queen and Ace.

And it did.

"All right! It's a Royal Flush!" she said and uses the RSF (Royal Straight Flush) attack on him. This manage to destroy the shell that is protecting the vital parts and X finish him off with a Charge Shot. Redips screams in pain and frustration at his defeat, as his body causes small explosion. With his power gone, he reverts back his original form and lays on the floor, his body sparking.

"Are you happy now, X?" he asked with much venom and pain in his voice, as X approaches and kneels by his side.

"Redips… What made you maverick?" the blue hunter asked. The Net Saviour picks up the other Supra-Force Metal, which rolled to a debris to the right.

"Maverick? You seem more Maverick to me, with all your stubborn nonsense about friendship and your unwillingness to evolve." Redips said and the hunters remained silent, as the girl walks back to them. "Stay in our place, be friendly to all, decade after decade, indefinitely... Is this all Reploids will ever be? Some day, you'll see... we'll... change the world..." he spats.

Then CF Rouge came, kneels down and smacks his forehead with the back of her hand, which made the others stare at her incredulously. "Don't say that to X. And are reploid meant to be killing machines just to evolve? To destroy a life or one another?" She said sternly, as she shift the metal in her arms and looks at fallen colonel. "That's seriously a lonely way to advance, and I don't like it."

"Like you human could understand." Redips spat one last time before his eyes loses it's glow.

"… I can…" she said silently as she stands up and her form returns into her default armor. She then walks back to the three hunters. "Hey, uh... what are we going to do with this?" she asked them, as she looks at the metal. Right now, she knows that the Supra-Force Metal is now part of her Synchro Chip as it's energy provider for the Cross Fusion. But she only have one of the new version of the said chips, and keeping it is out of the question.

The three looks at one another, then the blue hunter moves forward and place a hand on her head. He gives her a look, which relaxes her a bit. "Well, we'll have to find a way to seal or rid of it so the mavericks wont get to it." he states as he removes his hand. "Still, you've got an explanation to do."

"Ugh... Forgot about that." she wince as she slumps a bit, but then she remembers... "Ah crap! I forgot about Spider!" she yelped and runs back to the body.

"Spider? Wait, what happened?" Zero asked.

"I plug him into his brother's systems!"

"What?!"

"Guys! Look out!" Axl shouts in alert

Suddenly a ball of light, came out of nowhere, and hits the station. It destroys the whole station in one blast.

**:::^*^:::**

CF Rouge groans and opens her eyes, only to see dark sky with few stars on it and looks around. 'What hit me?' the brunette thought weakly, as she gets up and spots something not too far from her. She makes her way to the said figure and gasps on seeing it close. "No way..."

"Ugh..."

"Rouge, are you okay?"

"Yeah, what happened?" then she sees what her partner is seeing. "Is that Spider?!" Her partner nods as she kneels to the black navi's side and shakes him to wake up. Still, both girls wonders how he manage to materializes out of his PET, then his body moves and she backs a bit.

Spider groans as he push himself into a sitting position and holds his head. "Ow..." he winces, as he remembers destroying the tower, the Hunters and the girl throws one last strike on him, then data rapidly moving and pushing around and lastly, a black out. Looking around, it's pretty much the same except for a few tiny lights around him.

"Spider, are you okay?" he hears a familiar voice and turns to see the brunette beside him.

"Yeah... but, where are we?" he asked

"Within my domain." A booming voice said and the two quickly scrambles up to see who it is… they see a gigantic, white being with huge horns and a statue-like face. The navified reploid have no idea who it is, but the brunette does and is not that thrilled to meet him at all. "It's been a long time."

"Duo!" she shouts in alert, as her buster immediately forms and points at the huge being.

"At ease, young one." he states calmly. Then suddenly both Sora and Rouge are separated from Cross Fusion and allowed the female navi to have a physical body. But both girls are still unease, Sora quickly takes out her Buster Pistol while Rouge points hers are him when...

"At ease, girls." A familiar voice states and they turn to see an elder man with Colonel EXE just behind him. "Duo have not pass his judgement on this world, yet."

The brunette looks at him, then at the huge white navi and back at the elder. "I knew you'd rescued him." Sora states flatly, as she face palms and the elder just smiled at her. But then, she quickly removes her hand and looks around the area. "Wait... where's X, Zero and Axl?" as she could not find the three hunters.

"You don't have to worry about them." Duo states, as a light shines on a ground not far from them and there they are. The three hunters are on the ground and seems to be sleeping, completely unaware of the meeting going on. "They are safe."

"Thank goodness." she sighs in relief.

"But why are they knock out?" Rouge asked, as she slowly lowers her buster.

"It's because I want to talk to the three of you, privately."

"Us? Even Spider?"

The huge navi nodded and looks at the navified reploid, who was just observing by the side and wondering if the brunette knows more than he let's on. "I believe you have a friend waiting here." he stated.

"I have a friend? Here?" Spider asked, looking at the huge navi and wonders who is is and if that friend is revive in a similar way as he is.

Then he heard a familiar voice, the voice he never thought he would hear. "Really? You got yourself a new partner and forgot about me?"

Immediately, he looks at the other side... "Aile!?" he exclaims, on seeing his friend who's smiling back at him. He looks the same as his reploid form, only he is now a navi like him, got his legs back and his id is replaced by a navi icon with an image of a white plus sign on it.

"It's been a long time, Spider." Aile said, as the black navi quickly makes his way to him.

"Did... you revive him?" the brunette asked, as the two navified reploids are happy to see each other again and the black one looks like he's going to cry.

"Yes... when I sensed your presence in this world, I decided to give you a guide." the huge white navi said.

"Although, the timing is a little bit late... But he did helped you in some ways." Barrel explains, as Colonel moves to the huge navi's side.

"Helped us?"

"The four locks on the elevator."

"Wait, you mean you're the one who clung on me?" the black navi exclaims, as the peach navi smiled sheepishly, apologizes and explains that he was just repairing his damaged side.

As both girls watches the two bicker with amusement, Colonel takes the Supra-Force Metal from Duo's hand. Noticing it, she then looks at the huge navi with a stern look and hands on her waist. "By the way, Duo, are you the one who sent the Force Metal into this world?" she asked.

The extraterrestrial navi confirms that he did send the said meteor to the world, as a test to see if the world is worth surviving or not. As the brunette is not pleased on the fact that he instigated such trouble in that world, but it is not the worst compare to Slur who was deem as the actual threat to life itself. 'I really hate that navi more than Duo. Why the heck does she view life as self-destructive?' she thought in annoyance as she notices something. "Hey Duo, what happened to your other probe?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, as the military navi walks towards her. She then explains about the cloaked man she just met back in the docks, which transformed the laptop into Spider's PET. But he didn't replied and seems to be thinking about it, when Colonel stops by her side.

"Sora, here." he said and hands the Supra-Force Metal to her. But upon touching it, the metal glowed and transform into a Synchro Chip like the one she have.

"What the?" Rouge asked, as she looks at it.

"That metal now belongs to you." Duo states.

"Congratulation Sora." the brunette turns to see Aile giving her a smile as her praise. "And thank you for saving and being my friend's partner."

"Seriously? The Supra-Force Metal is hers?" the black bounty-hunter navi asked.

"Well, out of everyone, she can use the metal in a more positive way."

"True."

"By the way, so what do you think of traveling thru the universe sounds?"

"Hmmm..." the black navified reploid thinks about it, but it didn't take long for him to give his answer. "What heck? At least it beats paying the traveling bills." as Aile, Sora, Rouge and Barrel laughs a bit.

"Wait, what about the three hunters?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah, and your verdict?" the brunette wince on saying that.

"With the the current nature of this world, life will eventually fade out... " Duo said and looks at the world, where the lights are quite visible even in out space. The Net Savior and her Navi looks at the world, where almost everything is artificially made and only a rare few natural wonders still exist. "Even if this world pass or not, it will fade soon as the inhabitants continues with that path." He said.

"Is there anyway to save our world?" Aile asked, looking at the huge navi with hopes he got a solution.

"Yes, there is... Sora and Rouge will stay in this world."

"WHAT?" they both shouts in shock.

"Wait, what do you mean-" the peach navi quickly cuts him off and hushes him.

"I apologize, if you cannot go home right now. You have the highest probability to persevere in this world and you value life, either it's natural or artificial. Also, what you lost in your world, can be found here." Duo said and looks at the female navi. "And you need to assist her on every step on the way."

"What I lost is here?" Sora asked, wondering what it it and she thought it could be her fellow Net Saviours. Then Duo just picks her and Rouge, and places them in between the sleeping Hunters.

"Don't worry about Spider, we'll explain the situation for him." Colonel states loudly, as he walks back to his NetOp's side.

"But!" she yelps as a light cocoons her, her navi and the hunters.

"You'll find your way back." the extraterrestrial navis states calmly with reassurance, as the orb of light floats off. "But for now, this world needs you."

And the orb makes it's way down to Earth.

**:::^*^:::**

The orb dissipates once it touches the ground. The Net Saviour quickly gets up and finds her Cross Fusion back on, and then she finds herself and her friends in a grassy plain. She looks at Hunters, who are still unconscious but they're okay. Then she caught a glimpse of light in the sky and immediately makes her way on the top of a jammer, which weeds and vines grows around it. There she watches as the comet streak across the sky, and she says a silent goodbye to Spider.

'Take care of them, Duo.' she thought, as it vanishes over the horizon.

"Ow… what the hell was that?" she heard Axl as he sits up and rubs his eyes.

"Ugh... Was it a dream?" X asked groggily as he holds his head, not noticing their new friend jumps off the jammer and is walking towards them.

"I think so…?" Zero groan, not bothering to get up as his system makes some quick check for anomaly.

"Or not." CF Rouge said as she steps in front of them and they quickly sit up by surprise. "I think we need a proper introduction in place."

And then her Cross Fusion removes itself like glass breaking gently with ribbons flying out, it then morphs together into a PET and she catches the device in the air. She then place her PET on her shoulder holster, as Rouge appears on the brunette shoulder as she clears her throat.

"It's nice to meet you." She stated with a smile. "I'm Hikari Miriku Sora, a Net Saviour, and this is my partner Rouge EXE, she's my Internet Navigator or Net Navi for short."

The blue and red hunters are stunned while the dark blue couldn't help but to smile a little... 'I get to spend a bit more time with her! But I need to be more careful with my identity though.' the auburn teen thought.

As Sora giggled a bit, she looks at her namesake. 'What I lost can be found here... Perhaps... But, oh well, might as well join the Maverick Hunters, as it is close as I can get to my occupation... if they accept human that is.' she thought. And so she follows the three hunters and telling them their modified story, as they head back to check on Giga City and their friends.

X's journey ends for now, however Sora's journey is just beginning…

But there is another mystery that's been bugging the Net Saviour a lot… 'What just happen back there? Who was that man that transformed the laptop into a PET? The Supra-Force Metal suddenly merged to Synchro Chip have? And the other turns into another one too…? This is just too weird.' Sora thought, as she followed her friends to a city, where she will stay temporarily till she finds what she must look for and find her way back home.

And unknown to her and her friends, the unknown symbol that glowed on Sora and Axl has disappeared completely… for now.

* * *

Silver: Oh gawds! Almost 18,000 words! Ow! My hand! And please give it up for Spider, for having the better role than last time!

Spider: (bows at the audiences) Thank you! Thank you! I finally got a better role!

Silver: And Ya did! (cheers) And I hope you all like it! Today's special, a short look of Sora's profile!

* * *

**Character Profile: Hikari Miriku Sora**

**Age: **15

**Gender: **Female (Sora: Duh! That's pretty obvious!)

**Eye color: **Brown

**Hair color:** Brown

**Birthplace: **DenTech Hospital, Japan

**Nationality:** a Quarter American-three Quarter Japanese. (It is due to Yuuichiro's mother, who's an American in my story. Which also makes Rockman and Netto a Quarter too. X3!)

**Current Residence: **Akihara, Densan City, Japan.

**Family:** Hikari Tadashi (Grandfather), Hikari Lyra (Grandmother), Hikari Yuuichiro (Father), Hikari Haruka (Mother), Hikari Rock Saito or Rockman (Older triplet brother, net navi) and Hikari Alex Netto (Younger triplet brother, reploid, new gen.)

**Occupation: **Student, Net Savior and sometime takes a few part-time jobs.

**Relationships: **Ijuin Enzan (her boyfriend), Laika (best friend), Dekao, Tohru, Annetta, Pride and Yaito (friends) Erica, Ciel, Triela, Ron, Mile and Miley (American friends)

**Hobbies: **Skateboarding, pranking (although she stopped she resumes it after meeting her younger brother.) and fixing stuffs.

**Skills/Talents: **Singing, magic tricks, robot making and net battling.

**Likes:** Curry (like her younger brother), Horror and scary stuffs (much to Rockman's dismay.) and Robots

**Dislikes: **Cockroaches (she finds them disgusting), people conquering the world, evil and doing chores (she's kept jinixing it with no reason.)

**Personality: **Sora is a benevolent, cheerful yet free spirited girl, who values freedom and life in many forms. She share some traits from her two brothers like responsibility and the love of fun and adventures. But she have her own like her love on horror/scary movies and is not very smug like Netto when the fame hits. Also when she is culture shock, she becomes cautious and hesitates on acting until she learns about the area and bounce back. Unlike her grandfather, she does not see progress as a threat and should be balance with recession, as life never stop moving but finds a moment to rest.

* * *

Silver: Done! For questions about the grandmother, feel free to ask! Read and review!


	11. From the back to the front

_**Connected Hearts **_

_**From the back to the front**_

Silver: Chapter 11... Revised!

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own or MMX, if I do Zero is my Net Navi! Wait, X is going to be my Net Navi… Oh well, I'll just have both then. XD)

* * *

**From the back to the front**

A week after the battle against Redips, X and his companions return to the Maverick Hunter main base... with Sora and her partner tagging along. Cinnamon, Marino, Massimo and Nana decided to become the new R Guardians in Giga City, a new branch of Maverick Hunters to replace the one who follows Redips' beliefs.

Everything is going smoothly.

But Sora and Rouge got themselves in a situation...

The Maverick Hunters' commander, Signas, didn't like the idea of her joining in and participating a reploid war that can easily take her life away. Although, she decided this completely to herself, it is still too dangerous. So he called for the HSR or the Human Society Rescue, an organization who will rescue any human who survive a reploid war, abused by a reploid or are caught between their fights. He told them about the human girl the three hunters found in Giga City, and they agreed to go there, pick Sora up and to find her family.

Which becomes another problem...

A HUGE another problem on the Net Saviour's side.

Sora and Rouge came from another dimension, which means her family or friends doesn't exist anywhere in this world. And speaking of her family…

**:::^*^:::**

Yuuichiro Hikari and Rockman are trying hard to understand the blueprints, that Enzan found somewhere in the factory where the portal have taken Sora and Rouge. Unfortunately, they found it quite complicated since the materials they need are very rare or expensive to get, not to mention the programmings looks more of a jumbled mess. They wondered how this manage to send a person in a random place, but they won't give up… not for their daughter/sister.

**:::^*^:::**

The people from HSR arrived to pick Sora, bring her to a safe shelter and to find her family or relative. But they didn't expect that she would reject that idea and plans to stay in the Maverick Hunters. Most victims they rescued/encountered are more traumatized or looks out of it, but this girl is more aware and headstrong as if tragedy didn't get to her. They tries to convince the brunette on how dangerous the reploids are, and how her family and relative worries about her. But she counters it easily, with a cold edge on it and told them to leave. However, the HSR people are not going to leave without bringing Sora to safety.

And this cause quite of a debate contest.

'When will this people give up?' Rouge thought, sitting in her PET as Sora said no to the two men, Tim and Hideki, for the umpteenth time.

"But what about your family?" Tim asked once more, a normal black hair guy. He is more of an average joe and she could sense his worry for her.

"I don't have a family… or relatives." Sora said venomously, looking away from him. 'They are in another world, ya dimwit.' she mentally added. "They don't exist." she mumbled. But Tim caught that and wince a bit on forcing her to say it, thinking she's the only survivor of her family.

"But Miss Hikari, surely, there is someone out there who cares for you, like your friends?" Hideki asked, a Japanese guy and he seems more capable on defending himself than his partner. And she sense a bit of distrust to the reploids from him.

"I don't even know if they're alive." the brunette said firmly, giving them a cold stare. It made the two look at one another and wonders why this girl is so determine to stay and become a Hunter, it a job only meant for reploids. "Anyway, whether you like it or not, I'm staying here and will become part of the Hunters. Now, leave before I end up exploding your heads with this." She then threatens them with the Buster Pistol. Without further discussion, the two HSR agents left with confusion and worry for the girl, deciding to report this to their boss.

And the Net Saviour is smirking with victory as she place her gun back on her holster.

"Nice act, Sora." Rouge said, appearing on her shoulder after the two men left. "Although, you don't need to point your gun at them."

"Thanks Rouge, and sorry, I got annoyed and went "trigger-happy" there. I mean, they are quite determine to get me in a shelter or something like that." The brunette said, as she decided to find X and the others.

"True, they are tenacious at that, but to place your misplaced aggression on them." Rouge points with her arms crossing, as her partner chuckles nervously.

"You know, it's kinda weird for me to say that my family is gone though..."

"... Well, not until we find what Duo wants us to find, we'll have to pretend that our family 'don't exist' at all."

"You realize that we stated a half-truth, right?" and her navi merely smiled at that.

**:::^*^:::**

In a place full of monitors lighting to whole dark facility, some of them began to show gibberish language flying up the screen. Inside the network… is a figure of a nightmare in a shape of a armored man…

Opens his eyes…

And the rest of his followers also awakens.

"Damn... too late." a figure said before it escapes from being spotted.

**:::^*^:::**

As the Net Saviour walks down the halls, many reploids are staring at her and they began to wonder why there is a human in the Maverick Hunter base?

'Oh wow… this kind of popularity stinks.' Sora thought, as she looks around. 'And once again, I'm lost... why does this place lacks directory consoles?!' Not looking where she is walking, the brunette bumps on someone. "Sorry." she quickly apologize at the reploid.

"It's okay… Hey, you're the girl who came with X and the others from Giga City, right?" the reploid asked on recognizing the girl. The reploid is a lady, blonde hair that only pass off her shoulder and a pair of gentle blue eyes. She wore a pink and white armor with a black jumpsuit beneath it, and also has a headphone on her head, instead of a helmet like any other reploids in the base.

"Ummm… yeah, that's me." She replied.

"I'm Alia, one of the navigators of the Maverick Hunters." Alia said as she stick her hand out.

"Nice to meet you, Alia, I'm Sora." the brunette said and shakes her hand. "And I'm a NetOp."

"A NetOp?" Alia asked.

"Network Operator or NetOp for short, and this is Rouge." Sora said, pointing at the dark blue navi that is hanging on her shoulder. "She's an Internet Navigator or Net Navi for short."

"Hello." Rouge greeted the reploid navigator with a wave. "Nice to meet you, Alia."

"Nice to meet you too." the reploid navigator replied, who is quite surprise to see a holographic navigator hanging around the girl's shoulder. She is not sure whether Rouge is once a reploid who got herself turned into a Net Navi, or was created like that. "Anyway, where are you going?"

"Looking for X and the others." Sora answered.

"Oh... X, Zero and Axl are doing some paperwork that they missed a month ago." the blonde navigator explained. "I can escort you to their offices if you want?"

The brunette pauses to think and then replies. "Yeah, I would appreciate that. This place is more of a maze than the one in Giga City." She whined the last part, as the pink reploid couldn't help but to smile.

"Alright, follow me." the pink reploid said, and the two walked together while chatting on how Sora met X and the others and how she helped them. They both talk and laugh at some stories, particularly on that one time the brunette called Zero a "girly-bot". Then the reploid navigator gives her an advice about the Zero's appearance and tells her to be careful, and the Net Saviour promised not to make fun of it.

'Geez, I think I like my home world version of Zero. He looks scary but nice.' the brunette thought.

Both Sora and Rouge like the scary and paranormal stuff such as ghost, zombies and etc, except for cockroaches which they find disgusting. How the brunette's older navi brother managed to survive his sister's love on horror that is on par to her love on robotics, is pretty much a mystery though...

**:::^*^:::**

In X's office...

The blue hunter is signing on the last paper of the second pile, then he set it aside and then tackles on the third. Picking out the top most paper and placing it down, he pauses for a while and sighs. Looking out at the window behind him, he remembers how the brunette tagged along with them...

After the fight and returning to the center of Giga City, the other half of the group welcomed them back. However, they were then sadden on the news that Spider didn't make it... The brunette explained that when the light hits the station, it knocked the Hunters out for a good short time. And due to the fact that Spider was still in his brother's dead body, he wasn't lucky. Her CF form absorb the shock and protected her, allowing her to remain conscious as they were transported back to Earth. Still both girls were glad to see Sora alive and in one piece, but the blue hunter wasn't a bit happy about letting a human fight with reploids. But he made the brunette upset, which he ends up getting reprimanded by her. After that, she never spoke to him or Zero, who agreed with him about involving civilians. Axl became the exception of the three, as he never told her to stay in the sideline and viewed the Cross Fusion as a cool thing.

He once more sighs and leans back on his chair, gazing the sky as the clouds pass by. He remembers when they are about to leave Giga City and returning back to the main base, Sora and Rouge wasn't there to bid them goodbye. He asked about her whereabouts, only for the group to also wonder where she is. It downed his mood until Zero told him it's for the better and boarded the ship. It was only when they are halfway to their destination and hit a turbulence, they found the Net Saviour have managed to sneak herself into the ship. She stated that she's going with them... and whether they like it or not, she's going to join the Hunters.

That left him speechless, even Axl, while Zero exclaimed out of surprise on hearing that.

Sighing once more, he tries to focus on his work, only to think once more. Sora is different from most humans he met since his discovery. She doesn't like the comfortable and safe life that most human society wanted, and rather do things on her own and within her abilities reach. Also, when she looks at him... it seems different. He couldn't explain or describe it, but her look is different from the looks he received from other humans.

He snap out of his thought when he hears someone is knocking on his door. "Come in." he states out and returns to his work. He did not notice who came in, as he instructs the said figure to place the papers on side of the table by his right.

"Excuse me, but I'm not a paperboy."a familiar voice states, as he looks up and nearly slide out of his chair on seeing who it is. "Busy much?" Sora asked lightly, as her holographic friend covers her laugh.

"Oh hey Sora… and yeah, I have to get this finish by Thursday." He replied, as the brunette girl looks around his office. "Is there something you want?"

"Oh nothing much, exploring." she replied as she looks around the office and checks the pictures on the wall. "By the way, which door is Zero's and Axl's?"

"Huh...? Oh... Axl's is to the right door on my side, and Zero's on the left." X replied, pointing at the two doors at each side of the room. He is still not that used talking with her, as she practically ignored him and Zero when he lectured Cinnamon and Marino back in Giga City.

Sora decided to see Zero first and went to the left door, but when she opens it... "Whoa!" Sora and Rouge yelps in unison, as something smacks into Sora's face and got themselves buried under a pile of papers.

"Sora! Are you alright?" the blue hunter asked, standing from his chair and trying to see if the girl is okay.

"I'm okay!" Sora shouts, as she digs herself out of pile. "Is it me? Or do I sense a slight déjà vu here?" Sora whispers to Rouge and the two began to think.

**:::^**_A few months ago, Cybertronic_**^:::**

At the Net Saviour HQ…

Sora sighs as she and Enzan walks down the hallway to Meijin's office, and today there's another training session and a mission.

"Don't we get a break around here?" Sora asked, as she places both of her hands at the back of her head. "I mean, we're working and studying for 3 months straight already." She added. Unfortunately, Enzan didn't answer that... After all, he's the vice president of the IPC, so he practically know how to organize his hectic schedule. his girlfriend pouts about it, and he have to pacify her by slinging his arm on her waist.

On reaching the office, Laika is already there and greeted them. "Hey, so what's the mission in the Philippines?" Sora asked, because she knew that Sharo soldier is always the first one to know about the mission every time.

"We need to rescue people from the flood. That storm practically dumps a month worth of rain right there, unfortunately the dam can't hold all of it." Laika said, as he types in several keys and showing images and the map on the screen beside him.

The brunette made a face on seeing the images and notices something is off. "Okay... Which places are involved?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Mostly the ones that are near the Marikina River, and the place we need to attend the most is this." Laika said, he then zoom into the map, on a part of the said country and points at a specific area. "This is a residential area and next to it is a small community area." he points out.

"Okay… who is practically stupid enough to build this here?" she scoffs at it. "I mean look at the shape of the river, this area is suppose to be a wash-out shore."

"Wash-out shore?" Enzan asked.

"Yeah, you see the river is curved, right? When the river rises, water will take over this area and turn it into a temporary lake or a part of the river." she explains. "They really shouldn't build this community and suburbs here, this area is a hit and flood zone."

"Well… there's nothing we can do, people there are very ignorant to quality. All they want are cheap things, get rich and to save money for their own." Enzan said, as he remembers the housing plans his father mentions that didn't fulfill during his visit in the Philippines a long time ago.

"And this is what happens when they try to get quick bucks." she replied as Laika finishes with the briefing and left the room. They then make their way to where Meijin is, as he created a few new Battle Chips to help with the fight against viruses. On arriving to the said room, the three suddenly yelped when something smacks right into their faces, and got themselves buried beneath it. As soon as they got out of it, they notice that they got buried by… papers?

"Whoops! Sorry 'bout that!" Meijin shouts, as he tries to stop the Xerox machine from spitting more papers. They then found that it got viruses in it's system, and Enzan and Sora has to plug-in Blues and Rouge to delete it.

**:::^**_End of flashback_**^:::**

"Oh yeah… nasty little buggers." Rouge snorts in reply to that memory, as her partner stands up and pick up the papers one by one. On arranging the third stack, the auburn teen comes in, carrying some papers and placing them on X's table.

"Hey X, we need to sign some of this now." Axl said, as he places it on the 'IN' side of the table. Then he takes others that are done and is about to go into Zero's office, when he notice the mess and the brunette. "Hey Sora, what'cha doing here?" he asked.

"Visiting and picking these up for Zero." the brunette replied with a little irk, as she arranges the paperwork into its correct order. Even though she's not that neat, being a jinx on chores and household cleaning, she dislike the papers scattered all over the place.

"Well… Okay, but be careful. Zero is not in his mood when the paperwork piles on him." the young hunter warned her, before entering the office. A moment later, he came out quite scared and shaking. "O-okay... h-he's really not in the mood, avoid at all cost." he points as the red hunter's office, then walks back into his.

X and Sora looked at each other, before she takes a peek into the Crimson Hunter's office. Inside is quite a mess, unlike X's well-clean office, there are papers everywhere. Some are stack up like a tower on the table and floor, and some are mixed with the tilted trashcan.

Pulling her head out of the doorway. "I think it's best to leave him alone for a while." she stated and the blue hunter nods in agreement, as she quickly rearranges the papers and putting them back in his room without being seen. Once she place the last stack, she closes the door and takes a seat on the sofa that is beside the door. She sighs in relief in succeeding her task, as the blue hunter signs some papers before stopping once more.

"So… is the HSR taking you to your family?" he asked, as he place the paper on the top of the stack, almost halfway thru the third. Seeing that she is talking to him now, he decided take the chance to convince her on staying safe. Although, he knew that she will not agree with him but he have to try.

"Nope." Sora said and X nearly crush the pen in his hand. "My family doesn't exist."

"O-oh... sorry about that."

"It's okay." she waves it off.

"... Then... is the HSR is going to transfer you to a shelter?"

"Wrong again." she replied and leans back on the sofa. "Like I said, I plan to join you guys."

"You're joking, right?" but she shakes her head as her Net Navi appears on her shoulder.

"Sorry, once she made up her mind she won't budge." Rouge apologizes, shrugging and then places her hands behind her back.

"Sora, you can't stay here or join in this fight, it's too dangerous for you." X said calmly, as he places his pen down.

"That again? Anyway, like I said, whether you like it or not, I'm going to be a Hunter." she stated firmly with a stern and determined glare. The blue hunter couldn't shake off the feeling that he seen this expression before, but he focuses first on making sure the human girl discard the idea of joining the Hunters.

"I understand you want to help, but do you really want to throw away your life like that?" he asked. "I mean, you're still looking for your friends."

"I know, that's one of the reason why I want to join the Hunters."

"Sora, there's has to be a better way than that."

'Like I can tell you... that a freaky extraterrestrial navi instructed me to stay with you guys, in order to find what I lost? Well, Spider is pretty explainable. Duo? Nope in a long mile.' she thought with a snort as she gets up from the sofa. "Sorry X, but I made my choice. And whether you like it or not, I'm going to become a Hunter." she said in a firm tone and crossing her arms. "Besides, didn't I manage to support you on your fight with the Rebellion and Redips?"

"Sora, that's because you pretended to be a reploid and you threaten Prof. Gaudille on letting you go after us. Plus you should be thankful that Spider is with you when you can't transform."

"But everything turns out alright." Sora answered back, as X looks down on the table and his helmet covers his eyes. He really can't let her just do that, it's too dangerous for her.

"Sora... Give me your device." X instructed.

"My... device?." as the brunette feels something is not going right with the blue hunter.

"Your PET." he points out.

'Oh crap!' Rouge thought, as her partner covers her PET with one hand.

"No way! Rouge is my partner and you're not taking her!" the brunette exclaims as she backs away.

The blue hunter gets up from his seat and looks sternly at the girl. "In order to ensure your protection, that device have to be confiscated. So hand it over!"

"No! You're not taking my partner! And did I asked to be protected? Nope! Never did!"

"Still I will not allow you to step into the battlefield!"

"Like you can hold me down!"

"What's going on in here?!" X and Sora looks to the side to find Zero and Axl by the doorway, the red hunter looks pissed and the latter looks worried. The brunette thought that despite the metal walls, they have sharp hearings. But pushing that thought aside and not wanting her partner to get taken, she needs to get out of the room. She quickly bolt for Axl's office, slipping in between the door and the younger reploid, and then darts towards the exit.

"Wait!" the blue hunter yelps.

"No buts, X. I'm not going give my partner away and I will prove that I can be in the same league with you!" Sora snapped and exits out of the office, making a beeline to the room where she is temporary assigned. 'That as close for comfort.' she thought as luck have it, an elevator opens and she quickly boards it.

**:::^*^:::**

Back in the offices, Axl stared at the door which his sister escaped thru before looking back at the others. "Huh, what was that all about?" he asked.

"Yeah, what happened X?" the red hunter also wonders.

The blue hunter slumps and fall back to his seat, he then explains that he tried to change the brunette's decision on becoming a Hunter. But when he told them about confiscating her PET, that sets off the warning bells in the hybrid's head.

'Oh... he did not just told her outright that he's going to take the PET away from her.' he thought, but the blue hunter did. 'X... that's the worst idea you ever had.' he thought with disappointment on his mentor, as he looks at his door. He too would feel the same if his partner/brother is going to be taken from him.

"Well, you'll have to try again next time." Zero stated as he crosses his arms. "We don't need anymore casualties, especially a human." And his friend nodded back.

"Uh, you got to have to hold that idea down for a while." the young hunter quickly voices out, causing them to look at him. "You did provoke her, X. And I don't think she'll talk to you after what happened between them, Zero."

"But..."

"Just let her cool down, give her some space." he eases the tension a bit.

"Alright... besides we need to finish these papers soon." the blue hunter agreed to his suggestion and picks up a new pen.

Both Axl and Zero returns to their office, now that the situation calm a bit. However, when the door closes, the young hunter lingers a bit on his spot and looks back at the door. "... Sorry X, but I can't let you take my sister's PET." he whispers before returning to his work, as he thinks of possible ways to stall or prevent them from getting the device and his sister's partner.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day...

Alarms went off and Sora falls off her bed, the Net Saviour and her partner were given a room in the HQ for them to sleep in.

Actually, it's Dr. Cain's old suite where the two are staying. Ever since Dr. Cain's death, no one is allowed to use the room except for high ranking officials or important figures. But now, the room got itself a new occupant, even if it's only for a short time.

Trying to be quick, the brunette quickly dresses up into her usual clothes, which is consist of: long sleeved, black and yellow shirt, white shorts, long, black socks that reaches her thigh, blue boots with silver protectors on the front and a short, blue trench coat with gold trimmings on the edge and her family emblem on the collar. The suit she used back in Giga City have worn out and the armor pieces on it have dents and partially melted. And that is the only suit that can withstand dangerous situations, the rest are for low level Force Metals experiments.

She then grabs her PET, yanking the charger off which jolts her partner awake by the PET's sudden movements. She then grabs the belt, holster and her gun, putting them on and then she rushes off to the Command Center.

"Ugh... what's going on?" Rouge asked, as she is rubbing her sleep off.

"The alarm went off, somethings going on." as she turns to the right corner and avoiding a reploid on the way. "Sorry!" she quickly apologizes.

"Are you sure you should be there?" as the navy blue navi jumps out of her PET and sits on the brunette's shoulder. "Considering what happened yesterday..."

"I'm just going to see what's going on. After that... well..." she trails off, as she avoids another figures and apologizing again.

"Try not to jump into action when it's not necessary, Sora."

"Right."

Upon arriving to the Command Center, Alia along with another two navigators, are working hard to help X and his friends to stop the mavericks at have appeared in the city.

"Hey, what's going on?" the brunette asked Alia, as she rushed to her side.

"It's another Maverick attack, Sora." the pink navigator replied, then turns and smiles at her. "Don't worry, I'm sure X and the others can handle this fine."

"Yeah, they already been fighting these wars for years." the other navigator said and then faces back at the screen, typing rapidly on the keyboard. Seeing that the situation is under control, the brunette decided to leave before Signas arrive.

But…

"X! X! Do you copy?" Alia said frantically, thru the communicator but only received a hissing sound at the end and this made the brunette turn to look back.

"Zero, something has happened to X." A purple hair navigator said, thru the communicator. But even the Red Hunter didn't respond, as the same hissing sound have thru the radio. "Zero? Zero!" she shouts and again no respond as the Net Saviour runs back to the navigators.

"This is Axl." Axl called, and he's breathing heavily as if he gone into multiple fights with the maverick. "We have a problem and we need back-up now!" he shouted, as the navigators heard an explosion and a yelp.

"What's your situation, Axl?" a female green navigator asked, but soon she also got the same hissy sound. "Axl!" she shouts with worry as she types frantically on the keyboard.

"This is bad." the female navi states.

"Yeah, we need to help them somehow." Sora replied to her Net Navi and looks at Alia. "Hey, can I use the computer to hack into something?" she asked.

"Huh? Hack into something?" the pink reploid asked.

"Trust me, this might save our friends' lives." She answered back, as the pink reploid thinks about it and then nods at her. She vacates the seat for the human girl and stands behind her seat, as the brunette sits down and plugs Rouge in the system. "Okay, you know what to do, we need some visuals." she instructs her navi on the screen.

"Roger that." and then she begins her search on the network.

Alia couldn't help but to stare at the programs and files, opening and closing on the screen, as the brunette types rapidly to aid her partner in her search. It didn't take long for the two to hack into a satellite system, with the very advance camera on it and takes an image of the enemy. Once the image completely loads, Alia gasps on what she saw.

"C-ch-chiill Penguin!" Alia exclaims.

"Chill who?" the brunette asked, out of surprise on the navigator's reaction.

"Chill Penguin, he's an ex-Maverick Hunter, who became one of Sigma's men, that X defeated during the first Maverick War." she explains, as she looks back at the image again, and couldn't help to feel something is off. "But there is something quite different about him now."

"Let me see…" Rouge mutters, scanning the image as she senses something familiar about his new appearance. Once she finishes her scan, it alarm her. "Sora, he's no longer a reploid or a maverick… He's a Net Navi!" she exclaims and this made her human partner jump out of her seat.

"He's a what?" her partner exclaimed, as she plugs out her Net Navi and looks at her directly on the small screen of the PET. "Are you sure?" she asked, as she looks at the image once more.

"Yeah, his programmings is similar to a reploid but his frame is similar to a Net Navi." she explained, and then they watch the battle between Axl and Chill Penguin. "None of their attacks are working on him." she said, as the shots have no effect on the reborn maverick.

"Yeah, it's like they are fighting against a ghost." Sora said, as one of Axl's attacks does nothing to the former maverick, receiving only a very minor damage. And then the young hunter got himself caught in a tight and cold situation, like his two fellow hunters who are also trapped in pillars of ice. "They can't stand against him!" But then realizes something… if Chill Penguin is a Net Navi, who made or revived him? What is the purpose of reviving the maverick into a Net Navi? More importantly, is that person who revived Chill Penguin belong to her world and how did that person materialized a former maverick into reality?

"I'm calling the other Hunters." Alia said, is about to contact available Hunters but the brunette stops her.

"Wait! The other hunters can't stand a chance against Chill Penguin!" She point out, as she moves away from the console. "He's no longer a reploid, he's a Net Navi... and only I can face him."

That set off an alarm in the navigator's head. "But it's too dangerous! You saw what happen!" she points out, but the brunette only smiled.

"Hey, I'm not just a NetOp, Alia." She said and then looks at her partner. "Ready for this?" she asked.

"Yeah, I even got info on which transporter they used." the female navi responds back, and the brunette places her PET on her holster with a smile. She quickly makes her way to the transporter, but before she could even reach it... Somebody stopped her.

She looks to see the HSR agents are back... with a new guy.

The new person is their leader and one of the council members, Richard Payne. Richard is a man somewhere in his mid-thirties, he have dark brown hair and eyes. He looks like an old business man by his outfit, and seems to show concern at the brunette. The Net Saviour catches a glimpse of his eyes, as briefly sees how hard they are as if he carries a lot of burden.

Still she snaps back to reality and realizes who's holding her. "Hey! Let me go!" She yelped, as she tries to make Hideki drop her, by flailing about but is currently failing to do so.

"Sorry, but this problem belongs to the Maverick Hunters. A girl like you shouldn't jump into it, especially that you're a human." Hideki said, as she scowls at him.

'Maverick Hunters' problem? HELLO! This is a Net Saviours' problem and this is no ordinary Maverick attack!' the brunette thought, as Hideki places her down in front of Richard but made sure she won't bolt for the transporter.

"So you're must be Hikari Miriku Sora." Richard said and looks at her, as she crosses her arms. "I'm not impressed of your attitude, you don't see that those things will kill you."

"Now that's insulting… a lot." Rouge whispered to her NetOp as she looks displeased at the situation.

"Agreed." Sora whispered to her partner, then looks at the HSR leader. "I know, reploids have greater capabilities and the fact that they're machines. But X and the others are my friends, I can't just stand here and watch." She snapped.

"But this is a fight between reploids, you should let them be."

"Well I'm sorry, because I'm now officially a part of it." She stated and then back-kicks Hideki right on the groin. "Sorry." she apologize quickly as he dropped on the floor, wincing in pain. Without second thoughts, the brunette quickly makes her way to the transporter. Arriving there, Rouge points at the transporter her friends used, quickly jumps on it and is warp away.

**:::^*^:::**

A dark blue light, similar to Rouge's, shot down from the sky and hits the ground. Then it took form of a human girl, who stumbles and then slips over some debris due to the ice around the area.

"Urph!" Sora utters, as she stands up and dust off the front of her coat. "Okay, not one of my best landings." she mumbles to herself, then she runs to the place where X and the others are being held frozen. And as she makes her way, she takes out her Buster Pistol, it's her sub weapon in case she is knock out of her Cross Fusion form in battle. But right now, there is something off about that penguin navi, which is why she is taking the risk of going into battle without her CF form.

Upon arriving, she saw X and the two are trapped in ice pillars but they are still functioning since their eyes are moving. And on the right side of the area is Chill Penguin, and is no doubt that he is now reborn as a Net Navi. His armor is almost similar to Bubbleman's but it's much more sleeker than his though, which made him look like a penguin in a tuxedo. Then the data on his arm suddenly broke off from the body, but reattaches itself back. Also, odd parts came out such as an extra arm on the back, before it breaks down and disappears into his body.

"Whoever made Chill Penguin, did a very sloppy job on his frame." Rouge whispered, as she and Sora observed the enemy's condition and the brunette silently nodded. As she quietly moves towards X and the others, she suddenly stepped on something…

**CLANG!**

"Flarg it." The brunette swears and dives for cover. Chill heard the noise and fires an ice type attack to a direction where she was just sneaking before. 'This is bad.' She thought as she crawls toward X, while the former maverick went to see if he did hit another hunter. However, the blue hunter saw her and tries to warn her about the situation they are in, but due to the ice he can barely move. But that only draws the attention of Chill Penguin and spotted where the new opponent is hiding. He then fires blizzard and hits her lower body, freezing her from foot to her waist.

"Oh… t-t-this-s-s i-i-is co-cold." She stutters, as her body tries to warm up which surprisingly did in a short time.

"Sora! Are you okay?" Rouge asked and is worried for her partner, and the Net Saviour just nodded. Then the female navi quickly dives back into the PET to hide from the penguin's view.

"Well, well, what's a puny human like you doing here?" a high pitch, squawking voice sneers and she turns to see Chill Penguin glaring at her.

'Can't they think up of a better insult?' The Net Saviour thought with her brow raised, as her body became adjust to the cold temperature. 'This is weird, it's like I merely got it by a cold wind... A very solid one, that is.' She thought, as she stops shivering and charges up her gun.

"Well...?" Chill Penguin asked, only received a full charge shot right on his face and staggers back. She have been saving that for him, she knew that it won't give him the huge damage but that can distract him. She takes this chance to shoot the ice off her lower body, and then quickly distance herself from the enemy as she takes out her Synchro Chip.

"Synchro Chip! Slot-in!" She states, slotting in the chip and then holding out her PET as it shines. "CROSS FUSION!" Both Sora and Rouge said, as they are wrap in a ball of light. Chill Penguin, who manage to get glimpse of the escape, sees the girl transforms into a reploid.

**:::^*^:::**

Everyone are stun to see Sora transform into a reploid at the screen in the Command Center.

"Holy cow…" Hideki gasped on the sight.

"Oh my gosh." Alia said, as the other occupants in the room agreed to that.

Hikari Miriku Sora is no ordinary girl at all.

**:::^*^:::**

Chill Penguin opens his eyes after the light breaks and dissipates, and his beaks drops down on what he sees. He see the human girl have successfully conjured a reploid armor and weapon herself, out of that device. But he knew that any attack is useless and she'll just waste his time on ridding the three hunters. 'Well, I might as well make a show out of this for the three audiences.' he thought with a grin on his beak.

X and Zero tries to warn her that her attacks cannot give any damage to Chill Penguin. But Axl, on the other hand, is somewhat relaxed… after all, he was a Net Saviour before and he knew that his sister is going to kick Chill Penguin's butt to deletion.

"Hmph… you may have transform into a reploid but that won't help against me!" Chill shouts and launches some ice-type attack on her. However, she quickly slot-in the Area Steal, and disappeared from sight as the ice-type attack hit the ground. The avian navi looks around and spots her again on top of some debris. Again, he shoots ice at her and she dodges it once more, landing on top of an ice pillar. She slipped a bit but nevertheless she maintains her calm aura in this fight, she forms out her buster and aims it to the maverick navi.

But the penguins laughs at that. "Oh, well then, get me your best shot!" he taunts and laughs some more.

"... He did asked for it." Rouge states, as her partner smirks beneath her mask. The brunette aims and fires a charge shot at the penguin, who kept laughing and knowing that the shot will merely...

Suddenly, pain erupts from his side and he stops laughing. Looking at his side, only to sees his data coming apart and floating near his cut-off arm. Then he suddenly squawks and run around in pain and panic, as the two hunters are wide eyes on how the brunette is able to damage the maverick. Axl couldn't help but to smile smugly, as the penguin runs around with his damage side and his arm disappears.

"Looks like no one have explain about Cross Fusion to you." the brunette quips as she holds up her buster, and the penguin stops running around.

"Cross Fusion?" Chill Penguin asked, as he holds his injured arm. "B-but how can you hit me?"

"Cross Fusion is not a transformation into a reploid, but a merge between a NetOp and a Net Navi. And the answer is pretty obvious there." she points it out, as she place one of her arms on her waist and lowers her buster.

"A merge between a NetOp and a... WHAT?!" the penguins shrieks in anger and shock. "You mean the Hunters got one too?!"

"Yep." she replied with a shrug, although she knew that the Hunters have no idea that have have one and they're trying confiscate her. 'If my partner was taken away, X and the others are doom in this situation.'

But she quickly jumps away from another ice attack and lands not far from the pillars. "Damn it, and I thought we got ourselves an advantage!" he yelled angrily and attacks her again.

But this time, she is ready for a counter. "Battle Chip! Flame Blade! Fumikomizan! Slot-in!" CF Rouge states. The Flame Blade is a longer, curved sword that forms over her hand and forearm and this blade glows fiery orange with the heat element. Then the Fumikomizan allows her to warped herself toward Chill Penguin for a quick and unexpected close-range sword attack, and slashes the penguin navi in half.

The hunters and the HSR, aside from Axl, couldn't believe to see what she actually did.

"W-what..?" Chill squawks in disbelief. His sliced body began to burn, thanks to the effect of the flame blade, and the data are floating away from his body. He looks at the girl as the blade disappears from her arm. "W-who the h-h-hell are you?" He squawks at her.

She turns around, looking at him with her mask off. "I'm Sora, a Net Saviour." She stated, as she kneels to his side. "Chill Penguin, who revived you as a Net Navi? And are there any more of you?"

But the former maverick merely laughs as his data continues to dissolve. "... A-acting so high and mi-mighty, just because you-u go-got that ability..." then he becomes still, a huge sign of DELETE appears and then he dissolves into particle data.

"I'm just trying to figure what's going on here."

She then stands up and looks at the three hunters, who are still trap in the ice pillars. Then suddenly the ice that Chill Penguin begins to disappears around them, turning into cubes and then breaking apart. The pillars that the hunters are trap in, also disappears and they fall to the ground. X, out of surprise on the ice disappearing, landed on his back as Zero lands and roll on the ground. Axl, on the other hand, immediately activates his hover system, slowing his fall and landing on his feet.

CF Rouge quickly went to their sides and checks if they are okay. "Are you guys okay?" She asked, as she lends a hand to X.

"Huh, yeah... we're fine." the blue hunter replied as he takes her hand and she pulls him up.

"Are you sure?"

"We're okay, Sora." the red hunter stated firmly as he stands up. "But how come your attacks works on him?" Zero asked, looking at the spot where Chill Penguin vanished.

She sighs. "That's because Chill Penguin is a Net Navi." she answered.

"Huh?" the two elder hunters utters, she decided to explain it later and X taps on his communicator in his helmet.

"Alia, prepare a transfer for four please." X said.

"And when we're back at the base, you better explain why our attacks doesn't work." Zero demands as the brunette and Axl sweat drops as him.

'Demanding much?' they thought, as the four stands together. The hunter's navigators got hold of their location and soon they are warped back to base.

**:::^*^:::**

The group reappears in the transporter and walks out of it. But the moment the brunette steps out, the HSR suddenly surrounds her and began to inspect her CF form. She sweat dropped at their sudden action, it kinda reminded her of back home when she first step into SciLab and everyone is staring at her because it is the first time the scientists and workers met Yuuichiro's daughter.

'Well, this is awkward.' She thought.

"Miss Hikari, how did you transform… into this?" Hideki asked, as CF Rouge looks down on her form before looking back at them. Her mind is debating whether she should defuse now or later.

"By the Synchro Chip, and it's a fusion between a human and a Net Navi." she explains.

"Synchro Chip?"

"So by that, you can transform into a reploid?" Tim asked, his eyes seems to lit up with such possibility.

"Uh… Not exactly." the brunette replied. "The Synchro Chip allows the NetOp to merge with his/her partnered Net Navi."

"Net Navi?"

"Hold on." as her CF form breaks and forms into her PET, she quickly catches it and places it on her holster. "This is a Net Navi." her partner comes out of the PET and sits on her shoulder.

"Hello, my name is Rouge, I'm Sora's partner." the female navi said, as the three men looks at the small hologram which looks like the brunette's Cross Fusion. "And please, personal space for my operator." she points out blankly as they back away from the small hologram, and giving the brunette some space.

Unknown to them, a certain young hunter is keeping an eye on the three men, and making sure his sister and navi sticks together.

Sora explains to the HSR and the Maverick Hunters about the Net Navi and the Cross Fusion, and as the usual she left out the fact of she belong in another dimension.

"So anyone can perform the Cross Fusion?" Hideki asked.

"Not really, to perform it you need a lot of training to endure it and a bond between you and the Net Navi." Sora replied as she made sure her PET is secure and her Synchro Chips are in her hidden pocket.

"A bond?" the Japanese HSR agent asked, he seems skeptical on that one.

"The key to a successful Cross Fusion is the Synchro Rating or the bond between the NetOps and the Net Navis. If your rating is low or you cannot get along with your Net Navi, Cross Fusion is not possible." Rouge explains with her arms cross.

"But why do you need to be friends with a program?" he asked, only to receive a glare from the brunette and her navi. Meanwhile, Axl restrains from glaring at that man and turns away to hide his annoyance.

"So… are there any more of these?" Tim asked, changing the subject and pointing at the Net Navi, but only to also receive a sharp glare from the brunette.

"… No, I don't think so... There are fellow Net Operators like me, but I have no clue on their whereabouts." she lied.

"But who created the Net Navis?" Richard asked, finally making the two move away from the brunette as their boss talks with her.

"No idea. From what I know, the town I came from was cut-off from the world... as if they want to hide something." The brunette explains with shrug. "But it changed when Cross Fusion idea came and caused quite of a trouble, it attracted mavericks and we were forced to flee from my hometown."

"Where is your hometown?"

"You can't find it." the navy blue navi points out. "The town's council made sure the town is hidden and off the map, even from satellite, surveillance reploid or aircaft... and the fact that it's gone." as she scratch the back of her head and then she changes the subject. "Speaking about Net Navis, did you remember what Chill Penguin said before... that there are others like him?"

The occupants in the room froze and looks at the brunette and her partner. "Oh yeah, he did say he thought that they got themselves an advantage on the Hunters."

"Wait... so there's more of them?" X asked, his eyes widens a bit.

"I think so." as the atmosphere around her suddenly tenses, even Axl almost flinch at it.

The thought of having to fight with the mavericks and former friends again, but in a form they can't damage is giving the two elite hunters quite of a dread. Zero then asked how Sora can land a hit on them, while they can't. The brunette thought about it and answers that she can hit the former maverick because Chill Penguin is just like her partner, only he can materialize into reality on his own. As for their attacks, she have no idea why their attack couldn't do any damage, but she is willing to find out if she stays and become a Hunter.

Both Hideki and Tim are against with her choice, but she argues back and ignores them as she walks to Axl's and X's side. The blue hunter tries to convince her to go into a shelter, only he ended up receiving a glare from her as the young hunter tries to calm her down.

Then Richard made his riskiest decision, after much thought and seeing that the mavericks are coming back from the grave like ghosts... He allowed Sora to stay with the Maverick Hunter. That decision gave everyone quite a shock and his agents are frozen stiff at it, while the brunette hides a smile. The HSR leader explains that they witnessed a situation where the Hunters are incapable on, and the girl is the only one capable on taking out the problem.

This made Signas accept her as an honorary Hunter and placing her under X's and Zero's wings as their apprentice like Axl. But it's temporary though... once she solve the mystery and the maverick navis are gone, the HSR are going to take her to a shelter, and the possibility that her partner will be separated from her. And that's going to be quite some problems they'll be facing.

But for now, Sora and Rouge are happy to stay with the Hunters, as Richard suggests to her to be in CF form all the time to hide her human status. X is not that thrilled on letting her go out into the field, as Zero seems to be skeptical and Axl is glad that his sister is here to stay, but for a short time...

... Still the New Gen Reploid is not that ready to confess to his sister about himself, that he is Hikari Alex Netto resurrected as a human-reploid hybrid...

A smile is form and he disappears from sight... it wouldn't take long for her to find what she have lost in this world.

* * *

Silver: It's done! And about the Philippines thing… I have no regrets stating it out because, I'm living in it and I'm also a victim of a flood… well, not directly because I was in school when that happens but my family was on the roof for like 24 hours! And what's worse… My one year old nephew was with them! So I still hold a grudge of that incident (incredibly for 4 years) and I have no regrets calling my own people ignorant and selfish… and they still are because they keep buying cheap things and keep the money instead of donating it. Anyway, enough of my ranting and enjoy!

**Fun Facts:**

**While I was creating Rouge, she was suppose to be a mermaid-type navi… but after realizing that there is a bit of weakness there (I mean mermaids are aquatic, and lightning is their weakness when hit.) I changed her into an all-rounder type like Rockman. One mistake I made on her, is her name is suppose to be Rogue, as in freelance or outcast or sorts. But I made a typo-error and her name became Rouge, which is why I have to change her history a bit… In the past, Prototype X and Rogue are brother and sister navis for Tadashi-hakase's grandchildren. Planning for the third for the youngest, viruses attacks his systems and Prototype X volunteered to delete them. But he ends up seriously infected, which requires to split his programming to get rid of the virus. The first half is sent into the quarantine area, while the other was installed into Rogue for safekeeping. But the female navi's programming was rejecting the program, till the contact from the future came and they fuse together. Because Prototype X and Rogue have permanently bonded together, she is considered a new born and given her a slightly new name… Rouge. And knowing that her body will seek it's missing half, it consumes the old data of Rogue's as time go by. Basically, Prototype X was saved by transferring him into a female navi, which later becomes his permanent body after the fusion… which leads him being reborn into a girl navi named Rouge. As for the mermaid idea… it becomes her armor instead. X3!  
**

(Edit: Yeah, I kinda made X like his X7 whiny and jerky version (I still hate that game)... but it is justified that Sora is human, and his thought of coexisting with humans is to assist and be obedient with them. So if she gets harm, that will put a strain on the relationship between humans and reploids... If only he knows Axl's relation to the brunette...)


	12. Sketches

_**Connected Hearts **_

_**Sketches**_

Silver: Revised! Finally!

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own or MMX, if I do then the Sigma virus is gone by one sweep by Rockman EXE and Blues. XD!)

* * *

**Sketches**

In the Maverick Hunter HQ...

A figure lurks in the dark, placing an item there and then quickly left.

**:::^*^:::**

The sun's rays hits the sleeping form of the Crimson Hunter, Zero, in his capsule. And for one thing, he is not a morning person… but he ends up getting out of his capsule, grumbling about the annoying sunlight and stumbles to the floor.

THUD!

The blonde fell on the floor head first and got hit by a red picture frame right on the head too. Growling in annoyance, he sit up and leans back to his capsule and then he notices the frame. "Weird… Why is there a picture frame near the capsule?" He asked as he rubbed his head, which is helmet-less and his equipment is on the table on the far side of the room. He then picks up the frame and nearly dropped it on what he saw...

He rubs his eyes out of sleep and looks at the picture again, and his eyes widens at what he's looking. The picture… is not actually a picture, but a sketch of the Red Hunter himself. Despite it's a bit dirty and some erasure marks are there, it captures Zero's image like a camera. A bit stunned, the blonde began to wonder who made it, but the only thing he saw at the right edge of the picture is a loopy writing saying: AZURINE.

**:::^*^:::**

At the cafeteria…

All eyes are on new recruit, who have to use her Cross Fusion to hide her human status from other Hunters. And she slightly twitches by their stares, and quickly looks for anyone familiar. She spots Alia and the other navigators on a table, near the corner and walked briskly there.

"Hey." She greeted the three.

"Oh, hey Sora." Alia greeted her, as the brunette place her tray on the table and plops down on her seat. Although the blonde and the other navigators were surprised that the brunette became a honorary Hunter, they pretty much treated her the same like before. "Is there something wrong?" she asked.

The brunette sighs and looks at the three. "They're not going to train me, are they?" the brunette stated, as she poke her meal with a down mood. The three navigators sweat drop at the mood she's emitting as the pink navigator tries to cheer her up.

"W-well... you can try support as you got yourself a Net Navi to help you." the pink reploid said, only it made is a little worse.

"Sora... calm down." her partner said, as she sighs once more and eats her breakfast.

"Give them time." the purple navigator said, who goes by the name of Layer, as she takes a drink of her energy drink. "They're probably thinking of a proper training session for you."

"But they'll over-think it, considering..." then Layer quickly stuffs the green navigator's, Pallette's, mouth with a dinner roll.

"I know, I know..." the brunette grumbles as she continues to eat.

"Mornin' ladies!" they turn to see Axl with a tray of his breakfast and an item on the other. "Mind if I sit with you, I don't think there are much seats left." he said as he looks at the cafeteria, although there are a few seats left most of them are reserved for their companions or teammate. They let him sit with them and CF Rouge scoots near Alia, to give the New Gen a seat.

"There are a lot of reploids here today." CF Rouge wonders.

"Well, there hasn't been any maverick attacks lately since the last incident." Pallette states out.

"Yeah... I'm more surprise that most of the reploids here didn't know what happen that day." the auburn teen points out as he puts ketchup on his omelet.

"They don't?" the brunette asked with a brow raised.

"Well, most reporters and news crews have retreated when Chill Penguin trapped us in ice, and their remote controlled cameras were also destroyed. Plus the HSR leader wants to keep your identity a secret too."

The Net Saviour takes a sip of her drink, and then notices the item on his side. "Hey, what's that?" she asked.

"Oh this? It's a picture... somehow somebody placed it in my room." he replied.

"Mind if I take a look of it?" and the New Gen nodded and hands her the picture frame. She and Alia looks at it and is surprise at the image, the picture is Axl himself… no, it's actually a sketch of the New Generation Hunter. The drawing is almost like the artist took a picture of Axl by a camera. The shadings are on the right places, but the only mistake on the picture is the artist made is on the hands, the boots and the guns. It looks a bit small and the details are a bit crooked, but nevertheless someone must give some credit to the artist. "Wow, nice sketch…"

"Amazing... who gave this to you?" Alia asked, as the Net Saviour lends the frame to the two other navigators and they also look awe at the sketch.

"I dunno, when I woke up I saw that on my table in my room." Axl said, as Pallette hands the picture back to him. But then he notice a loopy writing on right edge of the picture. "Hey… do you know anyone by AZURINE?" Axl asked, pointing at the signature on the edge and showing it to the two.

"Nope" the girls replied almost in unison, they look at each other and laughed a bit.

"Anyway... Is there any Training Room available?" the brunette asked.

"Huh, not today... Sea Serpent is there." the New Gen replied.

"Sea Serpent? A giant mechaniloid?"

"No, he's a B-Class Hunter and... he tends to give new recruits a 'rough' welcome."

"In other words, he's a rookie bully?"

"Not really, he never bullies them after giving them a 'rough' welcome."

"I see..." She sighs a bit and continues with her meal. "I guess I'll just go check your network then."

"Our network?" Layer asked.

"Yeah, I want to see your network security. With the mavericks coming back as navis, it wouldn't hurt to see how it'll fare against them."

"Well, our security program is the strongest we have, viruses can't even get inside the system and it can alert us if it's being hacked." Pallette stated, although she looks forward to see how her navi can fare against the base's security system.

As they continue to discuss about the network's security, the auburn teen looks away for a moment and mentally sighs in relief. 'Phew... I'm glad that I didn't go all out on the network's defense.' he thought. Before he reached S-Class, he secretly upgraded the base's network security, by improving the firewall and the anti-virus program. He made the firewall a bit stronger by adding another layer of it, and the security system is consist of a few low level security drones that scouts the flat area of the base's network. Originally, he planned on turning the base's network into several levels, but due to maverick attacks he kept forgetting about it.

And now he's glad that he forgot about it, or his sister will get suspicious on how the base's network looks and works similar to their birth world.

After finishing their meals, Axl excuses himself and tells the girls that he have to bring some food to his two friends. Apparently, they need to finish their paperwork and decided to skip their meals today. Then the green navigator asked the New Gen if he's finished with his... He sheepishly answered that he's not yet finish, as breakfast is the first priority in the morning.

As he grabs the two trays, the navigators makes their way back to the Command Center and CF Rouge heads back to her room to defuse.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile...

X have signed the last paper of the last stack and sighs in relief that the whole ordeal is done. Then Zero walks in his office with the picture frame in his hand, which the blue hunter notices. "Hey, you got one too?" X asked

"What do you mean I got one too?" Zero asked, then X points at the frame in his friend's hand and then points at another picture frame on his table. As they both wondered on who managed to sneak the picture in their room, Axl comes in with a pair of trays.

"Morning! I got your breakfast here." as he places the trays on the table and sees the pictures. "You too?" They look at him and notices another frame in his arm. "Looks like we got ourselves a fan." he looks at the pictures his friends got.

"But how did it got into our rooms?" the blue hunter asked, as the young hunter shrugs and the red hunter also wonders about it. Then he looks at their young friend with a different subject in mind. "... Anyway, how is Sora?" he asked.

"She's doing fine." the auburn teen replied as he place a hand on his waist and the blue hunter sighs in relief. "Why don't you go and see her for yourself?" The blue hunter tightens his lips and tries to think of a good reason why he could not. If she is a reploid, it wouldn't be much of an issue for him. But she's human and to choose the dangerous occupation that only reploids can handle...

"She can do what she pleases, as long as she can complete her tasks and missions while keeping herself safe."

"Ze-Zero?!" The blue hunter stutters in shock on hearing that, while Axl is quite surprise and feels a bit of deja vu on hearing that. "Are you serious? She's just a human child!"

'If only you know...' Axl thought as he remembers that he was still in elementary when he first fought net crimes. 'I've been into dangerous situation before I became hybrid and the same thing goes for my sister.' as he crosses his arms and sighs. Right now, he a bit glad that Zero is okay on having the brunette join the Hunters. The red hunter then takes his tray, standing up and makes his way to his office.

But then he stops and looks back at the two. "I know, X. But she made her choice." the blonde stated firmly, then he steps in his office.

X slumps in his seat on hearing that... He can't deny that both NetOp and the Net Navi have the ability to fight and persevere against mavericks, whether fused or not. Still the fact that the girl is a human and the decision to join the Hunters, didn't give any comfort to him. The auburn teen sighs at this and notices that the blonde have forgotten his picture, as the the door closes.

**:::^*^:::**

In the Maverick Hunter's computer system...

Looking around the area, the navy blue navi couldn't help but to sigh on the flat and empty area with a few data scattered around. She did spots a few security drones that patrols the area, but what really surprised her and her NetOp is the fact they look like those security navis in their world. But they lack the personality data, which is why they attacked the navy blue navi and got themselves forcefully log out. Compared to the Giga City's network, which it have a few strays and occasional viruses that made the local network a little lively... then again, she hasn't seen what the other computer systems and the worldwide network look like in this world. "This place... is so empty." Rouge complains, as she slumps a bit.

Then a small screen appears on her side. "I have to agree with you there..." her human partner comments and she looks at the navigators. "Aside from the firewall and the security program, the network's security is pretty much low..."

"But this is the strongest security program the base have." Alia explains as she watches the navi walks around in their computer system. "The firewall keeps the viruses out and the security program alerts us of hackers... I can't believe you passed thru those!" as the brunette scratches the back of her head

"The only challenge I got is the firewall, that actually withstand the Battle Chips until I used Program Advance." Sora said sheepishly as her partner seems to agree on that. "As for the security programs... they're easy to evade and rid of."

"Sorry, but your security system is not that great..." the female navi points out as Signas enters the command room and notices them.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Well... we have Sora and Rouge check the security system, sir." Layer replied.

"Yeah, we have her hack into our system and..." Pallette trails off as she fiddles with her fingers. "She... she actually got pass our security."

The Hunter's Commander looks at the three navigator and then at the brunette, who is sheepish expression on her face. "Is that true, Sora?" he asked the human girl.

"Yes sir... My partner and I hacked into your system." she replied and then added. "But I'm just checking to see how effective it is against the maverick navis!"

"I see." he said, as he remembers what Chill Penguin mention in the last maverick attack... he wasn't the only one who was revived as a Net Navi. If Sora's partner is able to hack into their system, then it will be more trouble if those maverick hack themselves in and infect the whole base. Thankfully, the Net Saviour offered that she can improve the system in a few days, by changing and adding a few programs. With that, he allowed the brunette to take charge with the system's security, with the navigators there to monitor her. Once they finished discussing about the plans to improve the system, they call it a day and the navigators resumes their work. Sora and Rouge heads back to their room, to see if they can mimic a certain security system back in their world with the programs this world can offer.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day...

"Hey guys!" The Net Saviour greeted the three hunters in the lounging room and notices something. "So it wasn't Axl who got a picture?" she asked.

"Yeah, they even got one yesterday." Axl said as he shows her the picture. In the picture, the auburn teen is holding a kitten while the other kittens are purring around him for the milk he is drinking. X and Zero's picture are similar except for the poses and the animals, puppies for the blue hunter and birds for the red hunter. But for one thing that stands out from the picture, is that they are smiling.

And the smiles looks almost... human.

"Wow, you guys looked actually happy." Rouge commented, who is sitting on Sora's shoulder and looking at picture.

"Yeah... Well, Zero's looks more content than happy, though." her partner agreed as she looks at the red hunter's picture he got. But all of the sudden, someone lift her off the ground by the scruff of her clothes. "Whoa! Hey!" She yelped at the reploid.

"What's a human doing here?" a snake-like reploid asked, as the brunette tries to get down. The bluish-green reploid have a head of a Boa Constrictor with fins on the side and a long, curvy neck. He also have long, flexible arms but he got legs, as if his creator haven't thought of turning him completely serpentine.

"Let her go, Sea Serpent. She's only a visitor." The New Gen states, as his trigger finger twitch on how he treated his sister.

'This is Sea Serpent?' both NetOp and Net Navi thought.

Like the young hunter explained yesterday, Sea Serpent is one of the hunters in Zero's unit. The snake-like reploid specializes mostly in stealth and he uses water-based attacks, but he is also very cocky and tend to challenge the newcomer on MHHQ as if it is saying 'Welcome to Maverick Hunters, rookie'. He have high respects for Zero, but the red hunter seems to dislike his 'greeting method' on the rookies. Right now, the news that a reploid from Giga City is a new recruit have spread in the base, and the three S-Class Hunters are hiding that very fact that the brunette human is the new recruit.

"Hey, I heard there's a new hunter in town, but I don't see this recruit anywhere." Serpent said, as he places her down, she sweat drop and looks away. "I really want to give that newcomer a grand welcome."

"Ummm… she already gone to the city today." X stated quickly, as Axl tries to think of a possible way to prevent him on finding out that Sora and CF Rouge are the same person.

"I see, but what about the human girl?" Serpent asked, pointing at the brunette as she crosses her arms in annoyance.

"I have a name. Rude much?" She snapped and Rouge glares at the reploid within her PET.

"She's about to leave soon, she only came here to give us these as thanks." Axl said, waving the picture frame at him.

"Ah, a rescue I see." as he place down the brunette and left.

'If he dares to harm a single hair on her, I swear I'll assassinate him on his sleep.' the young hunter swore in his mind, as his sister looks annoyed as she glares at the door where the snake-like reploid left.

Then Zero breaks the silence. "Sora." which snaps her attention at the blonde hunter. "Tomorrow, 15:00, in Training Room 8. Don't be late."

"I got-" she then pauses and realizes what he said. "Wait, you're going to train me?! For real?!"

"Zero, are you serious?!" X even reacts on that, as Axl is surprise on hearing that and nearly falls off his seat.

Ignoring his friends reaction, he looks at the brunette sternly. "It's not training, but tests to see if you've got what it takes to be a Hunter."

The brunette and the navi looks at one another, and then the Net Saviour looks back at him with determination. "Fine... Tomorrow, I'm going to prove to you guys that I have the means to become a Hunter." and then she left the lounge. She promised to the navigators that she'll help them on the computer's security, starting on the network's structure.

**:::^*^:::**

Next day...

Making her way to the Training Room 8, Sora have to go there as a human or Sea Serpent will give her that 'rough' welcome he's saving for her. The brunette sighs in relief that the facility have less occupants and is able to find the said room that the red hunter reserved. Entering the room, she sees Zero leaning by the console and seems to be calm... as X looks like he got into a disagreement with him and Axl is trying to calm the azure hunter.

Sora and Rouge looked at each other, the brunette clears her throat to get their attention. "Am I missing something?" she asked, as the three looks at her. Then she notices something in the young hunter's hands... picture frames. "Got arts from your fan again? Is that it?" she asked.

"Those have nothing to do with it." the red hunter states firmly and looks at the clock. "You might have to wait a bit, Signas is coming here to see and evaluate your skills in the battlefield."

Nodding at that, she waited for their said leader, right beside Axl who sighs in relief that the two stopped. Although she wondered what they're discussing about, the brunette's attention went to the frames in his hands and asked the New Gen about it. But when he shows her the pictures, she couldn't help bursting into giggles as the two looks at her.

The three S-Class hunters have received another fan art from their fan, and this time the artist somewhat shrunk them into chibi size. And in the first picture she saw, is Zero's chibified self with a pair of cute, black, angel wings on his back and looks like he's attempting to fly.

"Aaaawwwww... Zero's adorable in that picture." Rouge teased, as she and Sora giggled even more as they check the next picture... which is a chibified Axl with black and white wings.

"I thought I told you to dispose those pictures." Zero stated, looking at the New Gen who looks a bit sheepish.

"Oi, they came from your fan, you can't just throw them away." Sora pointed out, as she calms herself a bit from giggling. "Whoever did these, actually worked hard on it."

"... I guess I going to keep mine." The blue hunter said, as he takes back his picture but his eyes are still on the brunette. To see her smile on such miniscule items, he couldn't help but to smile a little... But reality came to him once more, as Signas arrives and the girl Cross Fuse with her navi. She then steps in the simulator with Zero and the tests begins...

The first test to defeat a maverick mechaniloid but there's a challenge... it have a hostage in it's claw and is using it as a shield to protect it's generator. The rule on this test is that she can only use her buster and cannot use her Battle Chips, as they want to see how effective she is without them. Another rule is that she must pass the exercise on her own, as not many hunters have on-the-field navigators like the brunette does. Even though she sees the rules limiting most of her Cross Fusion capabilities, she agrees to it as she remembers what Barrel stated before.

With that, she calls out her R-Buster but didn't take aim... instead, she looks around the area a bit. Once she have taken down the details, an idea form into her head and charges her buster. Her next move surprised the Hunters... instead of taking aim and shooting from that distance, she makes a beeline for the mechaniloid. The huge machine strikes back with it's lasers, but she is able to avoid it by sidestepping to the side. Then she slides underneath the mechaniloid, shooting it's generator with a charge shot at point blank range. With the generator destroyed, CF Rouge quickly activates her boosters to avoids being crushed by the the mechaniloid's weight.

And with that, she pass the first test.

"Not a bad move, but you could've shot the mechaniloid from this distance without wasting energy." Zero points at the place he is standing.

Looking at the spot and then at the mechaniloid before the simulator turns itself off, then looks back at the red hunter. "And risk hitting the hostage? I don't think so." CF Rouge stated the obvious and place her hands on her waist, as the red hunter looks stun at her response but hid it well.

She takes two more tests, in which she is able to use her Battle Chips but still no support from her navi. She got hit a few times but that didn't fret her as she strikes back and pass the test. Her CF form sports several burned marks and damage, but it fade and regenerates her improved form. She thought that it must be the Supra-Force Metal's effect, making her Cross Fusion stronger and tougher like any reploid armor.

Finishing the tests, both Zero and CF Rouge exits the room as Signas evaluates the brunette's overall performance. "You've performed and finished the tests with such effectiveness and such unorthodox tactics." the Hunters Commander stated, as he looks at the replay of the Net Saviour's performance. "I've only heard and seen your abilities thru reports and a video feed, but now that I've seen it in person... I'm surprised that such technology exist until now."

"Like I said before, the town's council wanted to keep it a secret by hacking into the organization's systems." CF Rouge replied.

"Well... she pass the test." Zero stated as he crosses his arms and looks at the brunette. "I have to fix most of my schedule, don't be late on my sessions unless there's a mission involved."

"Hai!" she responds back cheerily, now that she have convinced the red hunter to train her.

"Still, I don't think it's proper for you to be assigned in a unit." the blonde said and looks at his blue friend. "She'll be better off doing missions like we do."

And Signas agrees with the red hunter as Sea Serpent is not the only reason why the blonde does not want to put Sora in a unit. Still they continue to discuss with the Net Saviour about her CF abilities and it's limits. Also they told her that on every mission, she'll have a partner with her to Rescue Change or in other terms, to aid each other. The commander suggested to have either one of the three S-class hunters be her Hunter partner, due to a fact that Sora is human and they are not that sure on how will the other hunters react on this.

However, it seems that blue hunter could not bear to listen, excuses himself and left the training room, confused and wondering how could they accept her as a Hunter. 'She's human and still young... why does she want to throw her life away like this?' he thought as he continues to walk away from the training area, as the four looks at one another.

**:::^*^:::**

A week passed...

X, Zero and Axl have been receiving mysterious fan arts from the mysterious artist, some are cute, some are awesome and some are totally freaky. And also, Sora and Rouge have begun their training with Zero and Axl couldn't be more proud for his sister as she improves. However, they haven't seen or spoke with the blue hunter, and the New Gen only spoke with him was two days ago.

X still does not like the idea of having a human Hunter.

But today is a small distraction…

As Sora walks out of the suite, her Net Navi spots a parcel near her doorstep and alerts her. "Huh? What's this?" she asked, as she pick the parcel up. She notice that the parcel have her name but no address, and 'curiosity killed the cat' she opens it…

In the Command Center, the navigators are waiting for the brunette and her security programs, that will boost their network's defense. When she arrives, they wondered why her mouth is twitching and seems to be snorting from time to time. Even when she is doubling the firewall, she is giggling uncontrollably and keep looking at a certain item beside her.

Then the three Hunters enters the room... both Zero and Axl took some time to get X out of his office, just to spend time together. They notices Sora trying to control her laughter as she installs the programs.

"Sora, is there something wrong?" Zero asked but when she looked at him, she began to giggle uncontrollably again.

Both the hunters and navigators look at her weirdly, as she answers quickly. "N-n-nothing!" Sora stutters, as she giggled again.

"And stuttering and giggling is nothing?" Axl asked, as the navigator decides to look at the said item the human girl kept peeking on. But then, they too burst into giggles and laughter, and this left a question mark on top of the three hunters' heads. Wondering what's making them laugh, they decided to see the item that made the girls giggle and laughs. The brunette notices it and gives the picture to Palette.

"You give it." The brunette said quickly and runs out of the Command Center. Both veteran hunters are dumbfounded by her actions, as Axl takes a look on the said picture and yelp on what he saw. He then goes after the brunette while shouting her name, which only made the two wonder what's in the picture.

"What have gotten into Axl?" X asked, as his partner looks at the picture... the blonde stiffens as his brow raises a bit. The blue hunter notices his and takes a look on the said picture, on his eyes widens a bit and is speechless.

A chibi- no, it's a baby sketch of the three hunters. They are in baby jumpsuits which matches their armors, but in lighter pastel colors and... baby X and baby Axl are pulling baby Zero's hair, who in turn looks annoyed and is about to cry. Now they know why the brunette and the navigators are laughing, and why Axl went after her... the picture made the three hunters look ridiculous and adorable at the same time.

"Gomenasai!" a loud shout followed by a laughter, as the brunette runs back into the Command Center with the New Gen tailing behind. Sora immediately goes behind X and uses him as a shield, while she continues to tease and laugh about the picture. The blue hunter looks clueless on what to do to stop them, as Axl looks like he's going to harm her... only to yelp when she pushes the blue hunter forward, causing him to topple over the New Gen as she runs away once more.

When Commander Signas enters the room after Sora left, he wonders what going on as X and Axl are on the ground while the navigators are laughing. He looks at Zero and wonders what's going on, but the blonde couldn't give him any answer as he's clueless himself although he doesn't show it.

Ever since the NetOp and Net Navi decided to become Hunters, a few changes happened... Like Axl is the only one who is more close to the human girl, the navigators have taken a liken to her, and the entire Hunter facility have gotten used to the presence of the human girl. Zero have accepted that the brunette have to potential to be a Hunter, but X is still does not want her to be one and wants a safe life for her. Somehow, their presence made such a ruckus but in a good way, because Sora sees not all reploids are all bad and even views them as equals.

Once the three Hunters left, the brunette returns to the Command Center and finishes the firewall and the Cannon security program.

**:::^*^:::**

"Okay, this training requires you to defeat an enemy in the dark" Zero explains, as he shows CF Rouge an example of the simulation on a console. "There are some situations that the enemy would use the darkness to attack you."

"No big, Zero-senpai" CF Rouge replied. Since the red hunter have agreed on training the Net Saviour, she started using honorifics out of respect on the three elite Hunters. Due to that, the Hunters learned that she came from Japan... she confessed that she's 3/4 Japanese and 1/4 American and the town she used to lived in have mixed races in it. "I have Rouge with me to help in the dark." she quips.

"True, you have an advantage of having a navigator with you... but in this training, you have to do it on your own. No navigation support." the red hunter points out.

"Seriously?" she asked and her mentor nodded. "... Fine..."

After telling her a few tips, she enters the room to start her training simulation. And as she trains, the red hunter left when someone alerts him that there was a ruckus going on in the hallway.

Unknown to him... a certain snake have caught a glimpse of it's prey.

It wasn't long for the Net Saviour to finish her training with some burn marks on her CF form and is slowly recovering. She sighs in relief that the Supra-Force Metal have improved her Cross Fusion, but she still wonders about the materialized maverick navis... Both NetOp and Net Navi knows that the CF form is being substantiated by the Supra-Force Metal, but what substantiates them and who revived the mavericks into independent navis in the first place?

As she walks out of the training room and thinking about the network's security, she bumps on someone. "Sorry." CF Rouge apologizes, only to flinch when she saw who she bump into... Sea Serpent. The brunette apologizes again and attempts to walk away, but Sea Serpent immediately grabs her by her arm.

"Wait, you're the newcomer, right?" Serpent asked, and she tenses a bit.

"… Uh yeah, but I need to meet with the navigators in a snap." she quickly replied and tries to get out of Serpent's grip but failing to do so.

"Hold on, I just wanted to see how strong you are." he stated and drags the brunette back into the training room she used before. "And I also wanted to show you the upgrade I got."

'We're both in trouble' Both NetOp and Net Navi thought, as they have very little choice now.

Then... scanning the area again but only to find nothing. 'Odd, my sensors picked something up... but now it's gone.' Rouge thought, but she set it aside as she is more concern on her NetOp.

**:::^**_Cybertronic_**^:::**

Enzan and Laika has found the ones who is responsible for the portal… but he's already dead, along with some of his fellow scientists. No one knew who killed them, but there's only one strange clue was left behind… a beam knife…

The Net Saviours are clueless who killed the criminals, but the only thing they discover about the knife... is that it is made of technology and materials that is far too advance for their current equipment to analyze.

Still… Enzan, Laika, Yuuichiro and Rockman are working as fast as they can to build the machine, that will bring the cyber heroines home.

**:::^**_Reploidian_**^:::**

"Have you seen Sora?" X asked the two, as he remembers that her training should be over now and the brunette would come to the Command Center to further improve their network security. Both Axl and Pallette shakes their heads, as they begin to worry for the brunette too.

'Crap, I feel something bad going on...' The New Gen thought with worry, as he joins the blue hunter on his search. Even though he haven't confess to her that he is her long-lost and reborn brother, he can't help to be concern on her well-being. And they also swear that they'll keep Sora's situation as the first human hunter a secret, as they do not know how will the other hunters react to such news.

As they look, they see Zero in the hallway and seems to be berating a pair of C-class hunters who looks downcast. "Zero!" X calls, and the red hunter turns to see the two as the other two hunters looks a bit relieved. "Have you seen Sora?"

"Not since I left to deal with these troublemakers." The red hunter replied, giving the pair of C-class a disapproving look.

"Wait, you left her?"

"Yeah, I'm training her until these idiots decided to cause trouble in the hall."

"You left her in the Training Area?!" he stated out of shock, as the young hunter's eyes widens on hearing that. The red hunter wonders what's wrong, until he remembers a certain reploid in his unit. And before the blue hunter could even scold his best friend, the New Gen quickly bolts down the hall. Seeing that, both elite hunters immediately follows their young friend. Arriving at the Training Area, they heard some noises in one of the training rooms. They quickly make their way to that room and there they saw a small crowd of reploids, cheering by the sidelines. They didn't waste time making their presence known and make their way to the front. And there they saw with shock, CF Rouge is fighting against Sea Serpent!

It seems that the Net Saviour is using her default weapons, as she puts enough distance from him by flying close to the ceiling. Although luck is not on her side, as she only slot in a few Battle Chips since she's trying to maintain her cover as a reploid. Also Serpent's arms are hassle as they can extend and attempt to slash her with his energy claws. And to make the situation bad, he have the ability to copy the image of his surroundings, disappear from sight and attacks her out of nowhere. But the brunette's navi is able to sense where the next attack is, thus she is able avoid most of the attacks. 'Honestly, someone did not study biology on snakes...' She thought, as she avoids a claw that is aiming for her head and shoots back.

"Sora!" X shouts with shock and worry for the brunette, as the red hunter quickly switch the microphone on.

"Serpent! Sora! Stop this right now!" The red hunter barked with such anger, that the other hunters backs away from the said blonde.

However, the reploid's claw managed to hit CF Rouge's icon as the blonde's outburst caught her off-guard. The icon on her chest lights up and breaks, her body glows as it forms back into her PET as she lands on her back.

"What in the world?" Sea Serpent yelped and the rookie hunters began to chatter and wonder what's happening.

"Oh no…" X utter on what he is seeing, the red hunter works quickly on opening the door as Axl is just beside it and ready to dash in.

The entire Maverick Hunter base now discovers that the new recruit who helped X and the others in Giga City, is actually a human. And she is the same human who they kept seeing around the base and is occupying Dr. Cain's old suite. They couldn't believe that there is a human who can be on par with reploids, even more that the human girl is recruited as a Hunter. But they begin to wonder...How did she become a reploid?

"Ow, ow, ow... Rouge, are you okay?" Sora asked, as she sits up and rubs her back.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Rouge replied, as the brunette picks up the PET. Then they both heard some muffled chatters and looks up at the observation deck. "I think, we've been discovered." she said with a sweat drop.

"Way to point out the obvious." her partner deadpans.

"What is this?!" Serpent shout, as the brunette is quickly on her feet and on her guard. "You're a human?!" he snapped.

Noise erupts from the crowd as they wonder how the human girl is able to masquerade as a reploid, as Zero was able to unlock the door and both Axl rushes in. "Daijobu?" The New Gen asked out of concern, as he rushes to her side with X just behind him.

"Hai, just peachy and having everyone staring at me." the brunette replied, as she slightly smiles and the auburn teen sighs with a bit of relief.

Meanwhile, the snake-like reploid reports to the blue hunter that the new recruit is a false reploid and a human. But he only received a shock when the 17th unit leader actually knows about it, and the human girl is the new recruit. "Commander X! How can you allow a human to be enlisted into the Hunters?" Serpent asked with a little venom in his voice, because he considered this an insult in the Hunters' reputation.

When X is about to answer, the brunette suddenly cuts in. "Hey, I chose to become a Hunter." She stated. That made the blue hunter look back at the brunette with a bewilder expression, as the New Gen stands in between her and Serpent. "And I'll become one even if the entire base knows I'm human."

"Oh?" the snake reploid stated, but they detected something off in his voice. "But you made a mistake, little girl. You see, we hunters tend to lose our limbs in battle and this is not a good job for a human like you."

"I already know about that, and mind you I'm about the same height as Axl here." she replied with her arms cross and looking miffed. "The HSR knows that I'm here and Commander Signas already know that I'm a human." as a grin forms on her face.

"What?!" Serpent said in disbelief... but he's starting to feel odd.

"It's true, she's one of the Hunters now." Axl said, as the snake reploid snaps back and turn his attention to the young S-class Hunter.

"I'm not asking you!" the snake reploid snapped, as he's starting to feel more... energetic? Strangely, he could not think of a smarter comeback than that.

"Serpent, what Axl said is true!" X reprimands the B-class, as Zero arrives in the room after forcing the other hunters out.

"Yeah, you must accept it whether you like it or not." the New Gen said as he stood in front of Sora, just in case Serpent decided to go maverick on them. Meanwhile, Rouge suddenly sense the anomaly again, and this time she is able to identify what is it and where is came from.

"Are you sure you're okay?" X asked her, concern is pretty much evident on his face.

The brunette sighs and looks at the three. "Yeah, I'm fine and this guy needs a few readjustments in his-"

"Move!" Rouge alerts them and they quickly jumps away from an incoming huge arm, falling above them. Both X and Zero arms themselves and aims at the attacker... who's Sea Serpent himself.

"Sea Serpent!" the blue hunter shouts, as he points his buster at the reploid. "Put down your weapon now!" But the snake reploid shouts jumbles of words they can't under stand, and attacks them again. The brunette quickly moves away, as Axl provides cover fire for the two. "Serpent!"

"X! Zero! There are viruses in Serpent's systems!" Rouge warns the two hunters, as Zero charges at his former teammate with his saber. "Try to-"

"Axl, get the girl out of here!" Zero barks at the young hunter and went head on with his former comrade.

"Zero-senpai!" Sora shouts, but X gently grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Sora, you need to get out." X said firmly, not wanting her to get into dangerous situation. But they heard the red hunter yelped in pain as Serpent's claws clamps on his arm, where he hold his saber and held on him tight as he keeps the said weapon away. The blue hunter quickly shoots at Serpent as he attempts to get his friend out, but the rogue reploid uses arms to grab him. X avoids being grabbed and aims his buster, only to roll away when Serpent uses his other arms and using Zero like a club. Axl quickly gives the blue hunter some cover fire, but he quickly carries the brunette and avoids the claw. X once more attempts to get the blonde hunter out, but he did not notice the claw turning at him after missing the two.

"X!" Sora shouts in alert, as the blue hunter is caught and they struggled to get free.

"Damn it, stay here." the New Gen stated firmly as he place his sister far from the maverick and takes out his gun. He dashes towards the maverick and is about to shoot him, but he stops when suddenly Zero got in the way. 'Oh this is flarg... he got X and Zero hostage!' he thought as he sidesteps and shoot at his legs, in order to disable him. Getting an aim on the maverick is hard with his friends being held as hostages, but he is more concern on his sister who is still inside the training room with them.

But then he felt a something hard and fast hit him, sending the young hunter to the far wall. "X! Axl!" the brunette shouts in panic, as Serpent hits the New Gen by using X as a mallet. She saw how Axl hits the wall and falls down to the floor... and she feels angry as she gives the rogue hunter a death glare. She have no idea on why she cares for Axl, and her heart felt that she knows him somewhere…

A long time ago...

As her anger rose, something suddenly click inside of her. Without thinking of Cross Fusion or her Buster Pistol, Sora rushes to Sea Serpent with the intent of knocking him out.

"Sora! No!" X shouts, as he yelps when the snake reploid uses him and Zero as hammers again.

"Hey! I will not let you use my friends like that!" Sora shouts, as she avoids the arms and her friend. On getting close, Sea Serpent attempts to bite her, but she avoids by sidestepping and sliding under his legs. Then she grabs his legs and the very unexpected thing happen...

Rouge is about to tell her to plug her in the reploid's system, when her partner suddenly lift Sea Serpent off the ground by his legs. "What in the name of?!" the female navi states out of bewilderment, as her partner just lift the reploid and began shaking him like a rag cloth.

"Let them go!" She demands, as she continues to shake him to let go. Once he let go of the two, she then throws Serpent to the wall behind her and creating a Sea Serpent body-shaped dent. Everyone is speechless, even Axl who's gaping in surprise when he saw what his sister actually did.

She just thrown Sea Serpent to a wall… but without her Cross Fusion!

As Sea Serpent falls to the floor out cold, Zero looks at the brunette as she is panting and her arms are shaking a bit. "…Sora?" He asked, the girl looks at him and she looks relief.

"Are you guys-" but she is cut off when she feels odd. She feels something wet on her nose, and checks what it is... Red. Then everything around her blurs, she feels the ground disappears... and then everything blackens.

"Sora!" Zero shouts, as Sora falls to the ground. The red hunter quickly catches her before her head hits the metal floor. Rouge kept calling for her partner to wake up, and the blonde have to calm her down as he sets the girl down to check her pulse.

"Oh no..." X said with worry, as he ran to the blonde's side. "Is she okay?" as he is shock to see the bloody nose.

"Is she-" but the young reploid is abruptly cut off on seeing the bloody nose. "Did she got hit?" as he is more worried for his sister than the blue hunter does.

"I don't think so, but we need to get her to the infirmary right now." He stated out, after checking her pulse and the two nodded. And so they quickly heads the infirmary, as the female navi remains on her partner's side.

**:::^*^:::**

After the incident, Zero had sent the unconscious Sea Serpent to the Detention Center and made sure that the maverick stays there...

However, the news have reached the HSR and they immediately arrive at the Hunter base a few hours later. "I knew this would happen to her." Tim dreads and worries for the brunette, as they follows their boss thru the hallway of the Maverick Hunter HQ to the infirmary.

"Yeah, she's just a child after all." Hideki agreed as the hunters quickly makes way for them. Then they arrived at the infirmary and inside are Signas and the three S-class hunters, they are talking and fretting over some matter. But they stopped when the HSR boss and his two agents enters the facility.

"Sir." the Maverick Hunter Commander salutes at them. "We're sorry, but-"

"It's okay, we're here to pick her up." Tim said, cutting the reploid off. The hunters looks at each other with uneasiness, they look like they're debating if they should they them or not. "What happen?" he demands, upon seeing those looks.

"She... she disappeared." Axl stated out, deciding he should tell them as he slowly backs away. Even though he is a reploid on the outside, he still has a mind and heart of a human. And in this case, he knew what is going to happen next... 'First, they scold us on letting our guard down, then blames us that we let her become a Hunter...' the New Gen thought, as the two escorts blamed them on the accident that happened and her disappearance. 'Then they start an argument…' which actually happened, as X and Signas tries to ease the two escorts while the red hunter remains silent on all this.

As he thought of what's going to happen next, he feels a faint tingle...

He paused as he focuses on the tingle inside him, which feels very familiar but at the same time it's different. And his mouth twitches a bit as he recognizes the feeling, despite it's minor differences. 'And then all of the sudden, my sister appears out of nowhere…' he thought with a amusement.

True to his thoughts, the brunette walks in the infirmary with Lifesaver just behind her. "Hey- Oh great, it's you guys again." She stated on seeing the HSR again. The Hunters, except for Axl, looks surprise that the brunette is awake and up, while the HSR looks very relieved.

"Sora!" X shouts with relief.

"Yo!" She greets the blue hunter, and then looks at the HSR. "I told you before, I'm going to be a Hunter." as she crosses her arms and Rouge appears on Sora's shoulder.

"But they nearly killed you." Hideki said, as the brunette raise a brow at him.

"Correction, an infected reploid tried to kill me." She deadpans at the HSR as she gives them an unamusing look. "You guys sound like you want to place that accident on the entire group... Are you guys really that scared?"

"Yes, we are scared for your safety."

"No." as the HSR looks at her, who just looks back at them with stern eyes. "I meant, are you scared of reploids?"

"Huh?" Tim states dumbly, as that question caught them off-guard. The Hunters also looks at her and then at the group... X knew that humans are afraid of his kind, since they are machines that have the ability to make a choice of their own. There is a line between reploid and man, which is why he continued to fight and to find a way for the two to co-exist.

"We're not afraid of reploids!" the Japanese HSR stated in defense.

The brunette sighs as the navy blue navi just face palms. "By the tone and the defensiveness in your voice, I say you are afraid of them."

"We're not!" Tim shouts in defense. "And what about you? Aren't you scared when Sea Serpent dragged you into battle and you lost your Cross Fusion after that?"

"I'll admit that I'm a little bit afraid of being discovered by the entire Hunter population, but other than that... nope." as the two agents stares at the Net Saviour who's pretty determine to stay with the Hunters. 'I hope I find what Duo meant I 'lost' in this world.' she thought, as she miffed that the extraterrestrial navi didn't give her any clue at all.

"By the way, where did you go, Sora?" Axl asked, quickly changing the subject as he attempts to diffuse the tension between his sister and the HSR.

Snapping her attention to the New Gen, she smiled a bit as an apology. "Oh, sorry bout that. I just went with Lifesaver to check something out." Sora said, as the white-armored chief medical reploid fix his voice.

"Commander Signas, I found something very astonishing in Sora." Lifesaver said, as the brunette rolls her sleeve up. She then takes out a clean scalpel that she swiped from Lifesavers table and... carefully slashes her exposed arm.

"Sora! What are you-" X is cut off on what happen next. When the scalpel left her wound, it suddenly begin to close itself and vanish with no trace of a scar. "But… I saw…" the blue hunter stuttered, as the other are also baffled on what they witnessed.

"Yes, about that, Sora has nanocytes inside her body." the medic reploid explains, as the brunette swipes away the blood on her arm with a tissue. "It helps her to heal faster than normal humans, which was demonstrated by the patient herself." as he give her a look and she just chuckles a bit.

"Nanocytes?" Richard asked, surprised on hearing that she have such things in her. Even the Hunters are also surprise on that announcement. "She has nanites in her body?"

"Wait, did that also gave her the strength to shake and throw that reploid?" the Japanese HSR agent asked.

"Well yes… but it seems that she can only summon her strength in extreme situations."

"You mean when the whole hoopla is in distress or I'm feeling extreme emotions?" the brunette asked lamely.

"That would be the possibility, and the thing that astonishes me is that her nanocytes are natural. It is made by her own body." Lifesaver points out. "It's like the data and biological organisms have manage to weave itself together to form a strong protection for you. And right now, it's incorporating mechanical bits, which I theorized that's where you got your sudden strength." As the group looks at her with amazement and shock.

"Hey, don't look at me. I didn't even know that I have nanites in me." Sora said, waving her arms in front of her for defense. In truth, she may have known that she have something odd in her, although it was mistaken as a equipment error during a check-up in SciLab. However, her father thought it must be connected to the link she and her older brother shares... but that's just his theory.

Axl, on the other hand, gapes on what he heard... 'That's... almost the same thing my immune system is made of.' he thought, although his sister's nanites are just adding the machine parts in them.

After learning that the brunette have nanites inside her, she looks sternly at the HSR."Please leave me alone, I already made up my mind. I'm staying here and will become a Hunter." she stated firmly.

"BUT!" both Hideki and Tim reacts, but shuts up on seeing her glare at them.

Losing to a determined teenager, the HSR are forced agree to leave her alone and Signas decided to announce Sora and Rouge as their new hunter. And so, Sora's second career as a Maverick Hunter begins and Axl is making sure that he will protect his sister, no matter what.

But still... how did Sora's body have the ability to produce natural nanites without any machine inside her?

The New Gen Reploid may have an idea, but he has to wait to confirm it. And with that, Richard Payne tells the brunette that he'll send another agent to check on her from time to time.

**:::^*^:::**

"Sora!" X called, as he knocks on suite's door... but no one answered. Today, the blue hunter have something important to tell to the Net Saviour. As he knocks on the door again... he finds out that the door is not lock. 'Did she forgot to lock it.' he thought, as he enters the suite and looks for the brunette. "Sora?" he calls.

"In here!" Rouge shouts from the bedroom, and the blue hunter makes his way there. Inside, the brunette is still asleep and have cocoon herself under the comforter with her long, brown hair poking at the end of it. Sora's PET is on the bedside table and the hologram of female navi is sitting on top of it. "Good morning." She greeted the blue hunter.

"Good morning to you too." He replied and looks at the sleeping girl. "Is she still asleep?"

"Yeah, she kinda stayed up late to finish the security program for the computer's core."

"I see... Huh, Rouge, can you tell this to your partner?" as the navy blue navi looks at the hunter, he turns to look at the small hologram. "Tell her that you're both official Hunters... And not to be late in my sessions."

"Oh, so you finally agreed to train her?" and the blue hunter nodded in response then sighs. "... She really wear you out, did she?"

"Yeah... why is she so determine to join the Hunters? And why did you not stop her?"

Now Rouge have think of a good reason as her partner is still sleeping, and the brunette is the one who usually covers for the both of them. As she thinks of a good reply, the female navi remembers what Cinnamon said about X back in Giga City... "Sora is not the type to just stand on the sideline and do nothing, and the same thing goes for me as I support her. And besides, what we're doing that not just to show that humans can stand up for themselves or to show a brand new technology. My partner wants to fulfill a dream she inherited... and it seems that she now holds another dream as well."

"Huh?" As he looks at the small hologram.

"Think of it this way, X." she points out. "If Sora can be on par with reploids, then harmony is not that far off. The line that separates and caused prejudice will blur and then will be forgotten."

The blue hunter is looks stun at what she said... when suddenly a paper smacks him on the face. Removing it off him, he looks on what cause the papers to flutter off. He sees the aircon circulating and blowing cool air into the room, sending some papers off the table. He picks the papers up and is about to place them back on the table... when he sees what's in it.

On the papers, were the sketches of them from the first fanart they got to the recents one, and all of them have the loopy signature: ARUZINE. Some are in progress and as he looks at the unfinished arts, he sees a group picture of them and each of them has a pair of wings. White for X himself, black and white for Axl and black for Zero, and on one end of the sketch is a note and it says: 'Thank you for being my friends.'

This given him a tingling feeling, as if something grew inside him. He looks at the sleeping brunette and Rouge, who hushes at him with a wink. He smiles and takes a piece of paper, where he draws Sora's portrait and writes a message on it: 'And thank you for being our friend too. Try not to be late on my sessions. - X'

Once he is done, he left the suite decided not to bother the brunette today.

* * *

Silver: Done! Blooper time! I know you missed this.

* * *

**BLOOPER TIME!**

**Junks**

The sun's rays hits the sleeping form of the Crimson Hunter, Zero, in his capsule. And for one thing, he is not a morning person… but he ends up getting out of his capsule, grumbling about the annoying sunlight and stumbles to the floor.

THUD!

The blonde fell on the floor head first and got hit by… a bunch of doodads from his side table and the shelf.

Silver: Whoops… I think we should remove those. I don't they are necessary anymore.

Zero: Damn right it is. (digging himself out of the pile.)

**Y Art**

But today is a small distraction…

As Sora walks out of the suite, her Net Navi spots a parcel near her doorstep and alerts her. "Huh? What's this?" she asked, as she pick the parcel up. She notice that the parcel have her name but no address, and 'curiosity killed the cat' she opens it…

She pales and shove the item back in the parcel.

Silver: Eh? What's wrong? (as the brunette marches to her.)

Sora: I'm a bit scarred now. (and walks away.)

Silver: Huh? (looks at the package and blushes a bit.) Whoopsie… I'll take the mistake on this one. (scurries off to hide her pic in her private collection.)

**Falling down**

Rouge is about to tell her to plug her in the reploid's system, when her partner suddenly lift Sea Serpent off the ground by his legs. "What in the name of?!" the female navi states out of bewilderment, as her partner just lift the reploid and began shaking him like a rag cloth.

"Let them go!" She demands, as she continues to shake him to let go. Once he let go of the two, she then throws Serpent to the wall behind her...

And suddenly the entire wall cracks and crumbles, revealing the backstage and crew.

Sora: Oops…

Silver: … This is what happen when we're on a budget.

Everyone: You mean you're a cheap.

Silver: I am not!

* * *

Silver: Done and moving off to the next, where there will be a lot of changes.


	13. Viral Fight

_**Connected Hearts **_

_**Viral Fight**_

Silver: Revised and Done! I made major changes and added some scenes here. I hope you like it! Also… I kept forgetting that X and Zero retired from their position commanders, before and after X7.

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own or MMX, if I do, I would've had a light-saber. XD)

* * *

**Viral Fight**

A week after the incident at the base and officially announcing that the Net Saviour and the Net Navi are official Hunters, there are a lot of adjustments going on. Based on their skills and experiences, they are supposed to be A-Class. But due to the fact that Sora is human and Rouge is an AI program, they are reconsidered as B-Class instead. They are also assigned a suite for the two in the S-Class dorm, despite their actual rank is B-Class. However, it is still under renovation since the new occupant of the suite is a human, thus allowing the brunette to stay in the Cain's Suite till it is ready. The reason why they are placed in the S-Class dorm is that she is not safe to be placed in a B-Class dorm, as she's the first human to be hired in a reploid-only organization.

Veteran Hunters, those who are still in service and have worked with the two elite hunters, are friendlier to the brunette. As opposed to the others, who are new or have worked a few years, have mixed feelings on having a human Hunter in the field.

And her presence causes quite a stir on the council… more on her device and her nanites.

**:::^*^:::**

The council is having a meeting… actually it's more of a chaotic tantrum throw-out, when they learned about the girl and her AI partner who decided to stay and became a Hunter. Somehow, Richard Payne begins to regret that most of the members have military/political backgrounds.

"Why do you let that girl stay with them?"

"She is right, that girl could be the key to rid of his world of those mavericks."

"She can fight back against a maverick with ease."

"If we can only get a hold of her and that weapon and mass produce it…"

However, a hand slams loudly on the table and everyone in the room is immediately silence.

"That girl is not a thing!" Richard grounded out as eyes cast down on the table, avoiding his view. "True, she may have the ability to fight against mavericks, but she is still a child and needs to be protected! That's the job of the Human Society Rescue!"

"But that child can stand against reploids with that device and the nanites in her." One of the council members points out. "If she needs to be protected, then why don't you confiscate that device and get her out of the Maverick Hunters?"

"Ms. Hikari prefers to stay with the Hunters, as she decided to aid them in their fight against mavericks." Richard replied. "As long as she continues to work alongside them, I can only trust the Hunters to take care of her."

"You let her do that?! Are you out of your mind?! What she has could possibly hold the solutions we've looking for!" Another council member exclaims, as she sees huge possibilities when they get their hands on the brunette girl and that device.

"Have you forgotten on what happened with the New Generation reploids? Also she's a human like us, are you implying that we'll experiment on her to learn how her nanites and the device works?"

"Enough." A deep voice said and no one made a sound, as they look at the end of the table. It is a shadowy figure of a man, resting his head on his hands as he listened to his fellow council members' debate. He then leans forward and straightens his back, as he replies. "True, that girl is our chance to rid of those mavericks. However, we cannot treat the girl like a guinea pig, have you forgotten the human rights, my dear?"

"Sorry…"

Then he turns at Richard. "Mr. Payne, I would like you to arrange a meeting with Ms. Hikari." As the HSR looks at him. "I'm curious on the technology she holds and the place she came from."

"Yes sir."

Murmur rises once more, but the HSR Leader sighs and leans back in his seat. Once the meeting is adjourned, he makes his way back to his car at the front. Although he looks calm on the outside, inside he is furious. 'How can they treat her like that?! She's not like that New Generation Reploids, which ended up back-stabbing humanity behind!' he thought angrily. 'War axe crazies.'

Arriving at the entrance of the building, his car stops in front of him and a reploid driver exits the car. The reploid quickly went to the Richard's side and opens the door for him. He climbs into the car and sits down, as his driver close the door and briskly return to the driver's seat. Once they drive off, the HSR leader thinks about the young girl's well-being as he has to fix a meeting between her and the head councilor. "You know, I don't know whether I should be happy that Miss Hikari chose to stay with them or the fact that she avoided these…" he tries to describe what the meeting he had earlier, before slumping in his seat and rubbing his head.

"Mr. Payne, do you need an aspirin." his reploid driver asked, looking concern at his employer as he stops at the red light.

The head of HSR smiles a bit and waves him off. "No thanks, I'm fine." he stated as he looks out of the window. Right now, he wishes luck and safety to the girl who is named after the sky outside.

**:::^*^:::**

"I don't believe this." A shadowy figure said, as he observed the video of the last battle of X and his friends between Chill Penguin, a few days ago. And there the group watches as a newcomer appears to aid them, a dark blue female reploid whose attacks can actually affect them. "Who is this girl, anyway?"

"Wait… rewind that scene again." Another said, someone complied his request, bringing the scene back to a specific time and discovered something. "It seems that their new ally is a human, Launch Octopus"

"WHAT! That's insane! I thought the Maverick Hunters don't allow humans to be hunters." He exclaimed. Octopus remembers that the Maverick Hunters is a reploid-only organization, and is created to hunt down mavericks. This is one occupation that is too dangerous for humans, as they are fragile and can be easily killed. But his answer was soon answered when the video replayed what the girl said.

"I'm Sora, a Net Saviour." The brunette said, as she kneels down and ask who revived him and if there are any more like him.

"Net Saviour? Is that a new organization or something?"

"It seems that this girl can be a threat to us." A voice state, which is much deeper and have a commanding tone in as the other two looks back at the speaker. "Dispose of her as soon as possible." He commanded, before leaving the area. But they didn't notice a shadow behind a pillar, and it left quickly before the two could spot him.

**:::^*^:::**

"Sora, we're here." the blue hunter said, as he comes into the Command Center with his partners, the navigators and Commander Signas. Today, Sora and Rouge are going to show how the new security system works, and how different it is from theirs. They finished installing the last part of the security yesterday, after a mission with X supervising the two.

"Hey." The brunette greets him back. "So… are you ready to see the new network security?"

"Yeah!" Pallette said with excitement, as she wants to see how different and improved the security system compares to theirs.

"Alrighty then!" She then turns to look at Axl. "I heard you are a hacker, collecting enemy info or cracking programs when the navigators are having a hard time."

The young hunter looks at the brunette with curiosity and wonders what she's planning, but he got the feeling it involves with the network's new security system. It is basic knowledge in the Hunter Base that if they got any problems on their computers or stealing info from enemy networks, it is best to console Axl for it. Once, X tried to persuade the young hunter into a navigator position due to that, but he failed to do so since Axl is determined to become a hunter. 'Now that I think about it… he and Sora shares that same determination…' X thought.

Axl, on the other hand, put on a cocky smile and a hand on his waist. "Yep! I can hack into any computer!" he boasted.

"Then why don't you try hacking into the Maverick Hunter's computer?" she suggested as she points at a laptop she have set on a table not far from her, which surprises them on her daring request. "And just to inform you, the laptop is connected to the net and not to the MH's main computer."

"Wait, you want Axl to hack into the base's system?" Signas asked, as he looks at the brunette and wondering why she would do that.

"Yeah, out of everyone in the hunter base, Axl is considered the best when it comes to hacking and stealing enemy info."

The young hunter accepted that task, as he pretends to be curious on how the improved security program compares to their. He could break into the system if the security system is like the one he first broke in, but since it reconstructed by his sister… he just mentally wished that his brother navi is here.

Sitting down, in front of the laptop, the auburn teen begins cracking the base's new security system. At first, he connects himself on various bounce points around the country's network and then connects to the base's computer. Then he bypasses the firewall, although it took some time to get in since it is twice thicker or encrypted. Once he got in the system, he runs the password breaker program to get administration rights… when suddenly the alarms went off and the MH's computer flash an alert of someone hacking in the system.

"What the-?" he utters out of surprise, as the brunette smiles a bit. "Are you serious? I haven't even log in!" but he knew that there are probably security navis scouting the area around the firewall.

"Well, the way you bypass the firewall and the presence of the password breaker got the security's attention." Sora explains, as she points at an open console. It shows a view of the system with a few security navis preventing the hacker on entering further. "The security navis prevent the intrusion by blocking the connection and alerting the base's operators. Also, they can…" Then another screen opens, revealing a map and the MH's base location… suddenly a red line is drawn on the map, connecting to the bounce points the hackers used and pointing back at the base where Axl is. "Trace your location."

"Eh?! That fast?!" Pallette exclaims as the other navigators are bewildered that he was tracked in a short time.

'Well… did saw that coming.' The young hunter thought with a bit of surprise, as he knew how the security system works, but the only thing that surprises him is the tracing speed. He have no idea how much the PET and network security have improved, since he has no clue on how the time functions in the other world and the hundred years gap between them.

"Yep. They slow the intruder from taking or destroying the files, protect the main core of the system and they trace the hacker's location." The brunette adds.

"Amazing." Signas states with calm amazement, as the security have tracked laptop's location before the hacker has the chance to do anything in their system. X and Zero are silent but their wide eyes tells something else, as Rouge appears on her NetOp's shoulder. "With this, our systems are protected from hackers."

"Well, you're right, the entire system is protected from hackers and viruses…" Then she takes her PET off her armlet and points it at the infra-red port. "Plug-in, Rouge. Transmission!"

A red beam shoots out and hits the said port, then the huge screen used in missions and communication flicks to life. It fuzzes a bit but it clears to show Rouge in the base's system. "Now we'll show you how much changes we made with the base's security system."

**:::^*^:::**

Inside the Maverick Headquarter's system…

Arriving by the firewall… "First off is the firewall." Rouge points out, as the screen shows a huge metal, hexagonal patterned wall behind the navy blue navi. "We decided to leave it as it is and just double the firewall layers for extra defense."

"I see… So by doubling the firewall, it is impossible for hacker and viruses to enter our base's system." Signas states.

"Well… Yes and no."

"What do you mean?" The red hunter asked, as the others look at her.

She looks at the blonde. "I'll tell you that later. Okay, show them what's inside."

"Sure thing." Her net navi replied and jumps toward the wall. As the wall nears, suddenly a hole forms when she is about to make contact with it. Then she pauses slightly in the middle of the hole as a green light went up and down, scanning her. When the scan stops, she moves once more and lands in an area that looks a bit brighter than the one outside the firewall.

"What was that?" X asked.

"To get thru the firewall, you need a password. However, for this firewall, we need two passwords due to its thickness." As the navy blue navi makes her way to the center of the system. "Oh and I made some changes on the system's structure."

"Changes in the system structure?" Layer asked.

"Mind you, I was remembering how my dad built one."

"Your father is a programmer too?" The blue hunter asked.

"Actually, he's a scientist and everyone in my old town can do programming. But for civilians, we only know the basics and virus busting. Only the scientists and the programmers handle complicated programming." She explains, as the brunette types something on the console. The New Gen knows that's one fact of their birth world as another screen opens, showing what looks like a light blue bull's eye. "The outer circle is where the firewall and some security navis patrolling the area."

Looking back at the big screen, Rouge is making her way to the center of the system. Some patrolling security navis greets her before focusing back on their task. "It was these guys who traced Axl here."

"I lost to these guys?" the New Gen asked, as he is not that much surprised that she upgraded the security navis he created. By his guess, they're probably similar to the level 7 security back in their birth world.

"Yep, they are programmed to slow the hacker's connection as they trace its location." The navy blue navi point out as she continues the tour. She went thru a tunnel that connects to the middle circle and there are three more tunnels somewhere in between the two circles. Also the tunnels have a defense mechanism to stop the intruders. In the middle circle, an image of data built in a town-like manner and it lacks the security navis. But the brunette points out that it have a defense of its own and types something on the keyboard. Several Cannodumbs and Shooters appears on top of the data buildings and on the system's ground, but they didn't shoot as they recognize Rouge. She continues to the center circle, by going through the second defense and another tunnel that leads to the third and last circle.

Arriving there, the area has some few taller data buildings and they could see something glowing in the distance. "What are those?" Alia asked.

"We're in the center circle. It's where most of the function and operations are set in… you could say that this is the core of the base's system." Rouge explains as points at a cylindrical structure with soft, glowing light on the sides. "That's the firewall system." Then she points at another different structure not far from it. "That's the operating system." Then points at the smaller scattered structures and some strange droids floating around, and around them are the security navis. "Those are the programs and the security navis, which comes in two types: one group attacks the intruder and the other defends the system."

"Amazing…" Alia said in awe as the other navigators agrees with her. "With this, it'll be impossible for anyone to hack into our system."

"But like I said before… yes and no." the brunette points out.

**:::^*^:::**

In the Maverick Hunter Command Center…

"What do you mean?" Signas asked, as the others looks at her.

"Well, it is impossible for ordinary hackers and viruses to get in… However, even with these defenses, there are still some threats that the security system can't stop." The brunette explains, as she plugs her navi out.

"What kind of threats?" Layer asked, as she couldn't think of anyone who can break into their system since it got a boost.

"Rogue navis or Net Navis that can survive in the network without a NetOp."

"Wait, you mean like Chill Penguin and the others we fought from the First Maverick War?" Zero pointed out.

"That's right, Zero-senpai. But they cannot use Battle Chips because they are independent from a PET. In exchange, their skills and abilities are stronger from Net Navis with NetOps and they can use viruses as their own personal army." As the brunette stands from her seat. "Well, that's that for the new network system."

"Wait a sec, there's one thing that's still nagging us." The red hunter points out as the brunette turns her attention to him. "What happened to your home town? Where was it situated and how did it vanish?"

"That's right. Surely a town with such advancement in programming could not just disappear in a day." Signas states as he agrees with the blonde, and wanting to know more of Sora's origin. As Axl wonders if his sister has a cover-up story, the brunette looks at her partner in her PET, then at them, then back at her partner and once more at them. "… Don't tell me it actually vanished in a day." The MH Commander stated, as it is impossible to make a town vanish unless it is caused by a large explosion in the middle of it. And there wasn't any record of any missile being launch, as it is the capable arsenal to wipe a town off.

The Net Saviour could only scratch the back of her head. "… Well… It did." Sora points out as she looks at Rouge. "Should we… tell them about that?"

"Well…" as the navy blue navi looks at her partner, crosses her arms and sighing a bit. But before she could say anything, a loud alarm went blaring off and making them jump. "Okay, now what?" she demands, as the navigators get back into their posts and began answering calls.

"Traffic lights are going haywire?" Alia asked, as she stops typing on the keyboard and wondering why this person would call the Hunters for this.

"Eh? There's an accident caused by a malfunction traffic light?" Pallette asked incredulously. "But why you didn't call the Traffic Control Center? … No one answers?"

"Yes, this the Maverick Hunter Base… Eh? The Traffic Control Center has been taken over?!" Layer exclaims, as the New Gen looks at the situation weirdly and feeling the déjà vu going on. Once she types in the situation, Signas decides to send Axl to investigate the center and to eliminate the one who is causing the traffic jam.

Mentally shaking off the déjà vu feeling, he nods back at the commander and immediately makes his way to transporter to be sent to the Traffic Control Center.

**:::^*^:::**

Landing not too far from the center, Axl summons his guns and dashes his way to the said building. Reaching the gate, he saw some of the center's workers trying to open the doors, by overriding the lock mechanism. Putting his guns away, he approaches one of the works to inquire on what's happening here. "Excuse me." The New Gen calls out, one of the workers, a reploid, notices him. "I'm Axl from the Maverick Hunters, we received a call that the center is taken over…"

"That's right." The reploid replied, as his fellow workers groans that the emergency password did not work. "At first, we were receiving calls about the malfunctioning traffic lights. We tried to find out what's wrong, when all of the sudden the cleaning mechaniloids attacked us. We attempted to fight back but the system in the building also went haywire, and we have no choice but to get out of the building."

"I see, is there anyone left in the building?"

"There are a few, but they found a way to contact us that they are fine and safe in one of the meeting rooms."

"Okay. One more question, have you seen anyone suspicious or anything off like a maverick?"

"Aside from the sudden eviction, not really… but I did saw a silhouette in a screen in the control center."

'Yup, definitely on Net Saviour turf.' He thought, as he advises them to get to a safe place while he infiltrates the center. He contacts Alia that something happened in the center and asked on where he should enter. There is a slight pause then the blonde navigator directs him to a cargo area, where is have less security. 'The only way to get Sora and Rouge here is if the enemy is a Net Navi, might as well see who's messing up the system.' summoning his guns once more, he begins his mission.

The cargo area is easy to enter due to open windows, plus with the lack of security it's okay for him to be in wide area. Once Axl arrived to the entrance of the building, to his luck he finds the door slightly ajar. He checks the hallway before he makes his way to the said control room, when he receives a call from Alia.

"Axl, where are you?" she asked.

"In the hallway, not too far from the cargo area." He replied.

"Good, wait for Sora and Rouge, they're on their way there."

"Huh? What do you mean?" he wondered. 'And that was fast.'

"I tried looking for more info on the center and decided to open a link there… um…"

"And?" as the New Gen have an idea about that.

"The computers here gave out a virus alert warning on us. I'm so thankful that Sora and Rouge upgraded the network security and that they cut off the link. After that, Signas decided to send Sora and Rouge as your partners, seeing that there's a possibility that a maverick navi is controlling the system inside."

"Seriously? … Okay, I'll wait for them in the cargo area."

"Take good care of them, Axl. This is their first mission as Hunters. Also, hurry, the people are getting irritated and more accidents are happening in more sector areas."

"Roger that." And ends their communication, as he walks back to the cargo area and takes seat on one of the boxes. He didn't have to wait long, as his sister comes running in her CF form.

"I hope I didn't make you wait that long?" CF Rouge asked, as he stands up from his seat.

"Not really." He quips back. "Now come on, we have got to see what's going on with that system and fix it."

She nods at that and they both make their way to the center's control room, but they encounter a few obstacles in the way. For instance, the cleaning mechaniloids attacks them with their cleaning equipment when they are spotted. The two are pretty much used on this weird fight, as there are some missions that viruses would hack into odd machinery and use it to attack them in their birth world. The New Gen thought that X and Zero will get a bit weird out when they face these, if they are partnered with her in a mission. Then the sprinklers goes off when they are about to reach the control room. While it didn't do much harm, the electricity does as the wires disconnect from the wall and falls down on the wet floor. Still it is not much of a problem as they are able to fly thru it. Once they crossed the hall, they enter the control room and find no one inside… but the computers are glowing in activity as the alarm still continues to ring out.

"Okay… well, it's definitely your turf now." Axl points out as the Net Saviour defuses from their Cross Fusion. As she looks for an infra-red port to plug her navi in, they hear a crash outside and checks to see what's going on. Down the hall, a group of cleaning mechaniloids marching down the hall, armed with their cleaning tools and eyes glowing red. Both teens look at one another, and then at the mechaniloids. "… You know, germs would cower in fear on seeing that." He quips as he aims his gun at them, and the brunette quickly runs back into the room. "You better hurry on getting that thing out of the system!"

"Right!" as she continues to look for the infra-red port. And when she finds one, she wasted no time plugging her partner in the system.

**:::^*^:::**

A navy blue light hits a floating platform and then took the form of the said navy blue navi. Rouge nearly got a shock on what she sees... the viruses, nearly a thousand, are attacking the traffic control system which is causing the chaos outside. However, she is more surprise on the viruses, as these are the one they mostly encounter in their world. The viruses takes notice and charges at her, but she quickly jumps out of the way and shoots the Billy viruses behind. 'Okay, something is not right here.' She thought as she knew that the network system is not advance as their home world, but there are too many viruses in the system.

"How it is, Rouge?" Sora asked, as the screen appears on Rouge's side as she lands on top of a platform.

"I'm going to need some chips to beat a thousand though." Her partner states back.

"Okay." Sora said, and Rouge dashes into action. She began shooting the viruses out, but she kept in mind that the fight going to be a bit tricky. Considering some of them tend to combine into one large virus. Summoning her chain, she throws it towards a line of Twisty viruses and then letting it rebound on the wall to hit their partners in the air. "Battle Chip! Vulcan! Slot-in!" as Rouge's left arm transforms into what looks like a machine gun with an orange ammo container. She began deleting the viruses that was destroying the remaining security program or the system. Then some of the viruses are beginning to retreat, seeing how strong she is.

"Oh no, you don't!" Rouge shouts, and chases after the Metools but when she turns around the corner… "Whoa! It's the Dream Virus!" she yelped, skidding to a stop and quickly takes off to the opposite direction.

"What?! What the heck is that virus doing here?" her partner demands, as she too is surprised on hearing that. Even the New Gen is shock to hear that, his encounter with that virus which materialized in a mall in Jawaii is not that thrilling.

"Is it that dangerous?" the young hunter asked.

"Yeah, a very dangerous one, the Dream Virus can destroy any systems and that can affect the real world. But how did that thing come back?" Sora wonders as she remembers her encounters with it. Back in her home world, they faced against an army of Dream Viruses lead by the Zoanroids who are targeting Trill. Also she once fought against this virus in a party but not alone. She was with Enzan and Yaito when the whole ship was thrown in panic, and she is also double operating two navis at that time… Only her second navi is not her older brother.

"Sora, have you notice the difference of the virus?" her navi asked, as she keeps running, avoiding getting hit by the Dream Virus' attacks and shooting down stray viruses on the way. The brunette takes a look on the virus on the screen and there she notices the differences of the virus…

The color scheme of the virus is yellow and not green. It may have gain a bit of size, its legs are longer and has an extra pair of arms… about 3 pairs of it.

"Dang, who mutated the Dream Virus?" She muttered and quickly slot-in Dream Aura to protect her partner. And all of the sudden, the mutated Dream Virus suddenly releases beams from its claw. And it damages Rouge by her side, despite the additional protection of the Dream Aura. "Rouge!" she shouts with worry.

"Don't worry! It's just a scratch!" Rouge said, as she covers her wound and immediately stands up. She quickly makes a jump to the side, as the mutated Dream Virus shoots at her again. She keeps avoiding the beams and is about to retaliate with a shot or two… when out of the blue, a purple beam shot out of the air and flew straight to the mutated Dream Virus. It strikes at it several times, inflicting damage and enraging to huge virus.

"Whoa…" she stated, out of surprise of a sudden assist. She watches as the purple light attacks the virus again, this time with tornado attacks. But then, the mutated virus has enough and manages to swat the purple light to the ground with one of its claws. The female navi immediately makes her way to the crash site, to see if her rescuer is okay. And there she saw another Net Navi, it have a dark grey jumpsuit and purple armor. But what strikes out is its head is an anthropomorphic eagle, talons for feet and have blue wings on the back. "Are you okay?" she asked as she keeps her guard up, to a possibility he is one of those revived maverick.

"Ugh…" the avian navi groans, as it attempt to get up. Only to find one of its wings stuck beneath the ground. "Uh… are you going to stand there or are you going to help me?"

"… How do I know you're friendly?"

"If I was your foe, then I'd attack you instead of that virus."

"… Point taken." And then proceeds helping the avian out of the ground. "Who are you?"

"Storm Eagle, previous leader of the Maverick Hunters 7th Air Cavalry Unit, a former maverick who fought against X. And now, I'm this… odd, manifestation of myself in the system."

"The actual term is a Net Navi or Internet Navigator, Storm…" as the female navi crosses her arms but still keeps her guard up. "So, how did you become like this? And how did you get into the system?"

"I… don't know, but a stranger told me to warn someone called Net Saviour and then I'm free to make my choice."

Surprised on hearing that, both girls look at one another before looking back at him and answering. "I'm Rouge and this is my NetOp, Sora, we're the Net Saviour."

"You're both the Net Saviour?" The avian navi asked, as he is quite surprise that the human is one of what he's looking for. "… I see. Well then, be on your guard, Sigma is back and will attempt to eliminate you and your partner in any means."

"You mean, the maverick leader that kept coming back like an annoying a whack-a-mole thing? That Sigma?" the brunette asked.

"Sigma?! Don't tell me he's back!" the young hunter yelps, making her jump about a feet high. He briefly moves to the brunette's side to see what's going on, and meets the former maverick who's now helping Rouge.

"Yes, he's back… but you won't be able to defeat him like before. He and his followers became Net Navis like this girl and I." Storm Eagle explains as he points at the female navi. Now Axl is more worried for her, hearing the fact that the maverick navis are now aiming for her. Suddenly, the ground under the two navis rumbles a bit.

"You two! Behind you!" Sora shouts in alert. Both Net Navis manages to dodge the oncoming claws of the virus, which erupted from the ground.

As they land a few distance away from the mutated Dream Virus. "I think we should talk about this later. Right now, we're in the middle of something here." The female navi states. "But I would appreciate a help though." Sticking her hand out as a sign of friendship. The former maverick is once more surprised by the gesture, but he agreed with her and takes her hand. Then they quickly avoid another barrage of beams, Rouge running to the side as Storm Eagle takes the air.

Then he dives at the virus with his cannon armed. "Storm Tornado!" he yells as fires a purple wind-type attack at it and it hits the virus square on. Although it did not give it much damage, his attack did send the virus back a few feet away from them.

'That's quite similar to a Tornado Battle Chip.' The female navi thought as she charges at the virus with her chain. 'But it's not that strong as that chip, but in exchange it added the Wind Chip's effect of blowing the enemy back.'

She then strikes the mutated Dream Virus before backing once more, as it attempts to punch her on the ground. It did left a huge dent on the ground though. "Okay, that's way too close for call." She utters.

"Phew… be careful, Rouge." As her brunette partners breathes in relief.

"Speak for yourself, Sora-chan." The female navi amusingly points out.

"Oi, I thought we agreed to never mention that ever again?"

"I didn't mention anything." As Rouge feigns innocence.

"But you're implying it… and since when you decided to add honorifics in my name?"

"Since I'm starting to miss Japan." Then she immediately jumps away from being hit by beams again. "Well, that virus has become more powerful and more durable than last time, not to mention that its attacks are quite wild."

"Then we have to beast it out." Her NetOp stated, and the female navi knew what she means. "Beast Chip! Falzer! Slot in!"

A bright light covers her as her form changes, the former reploid stops for a moment and backs away from the virus. "What's going on?" He asked, and it didn't take long for him to find out as the cocoon breaks revealing Rouge's new form.

Her vest and half-skirt turn red with green highlights, and the length is changed to mimic the bird's tail feathers. She gains a gray armor above her chest and icon, at her back is a gold plate with the wings on it and on her belt is Falzer's icon. Her helmet changes to mimic Falzer's head… which is consists of the yellow beak at the front, the cybeast's icon on top of it, the red with green highlighted feathers on the side of her helmet and the black mask that covers half of her face. Her gauntlets and boots also changed, becoming red with gold bracers and shin protectors on top of it, and gaining greens gems at the end of it. Finally, her hands have sharpened into claws and her feet become talons, as she hovers a few inches from the ground.

Both Axl and Storm Eagle are surprise at this, but the New Gen quickly recovers from it as he remembers that the female navi can also change armor. 'Like a certain blue hunter I know.' He thought.

And before touching the ground, she shot herself straight to the virus like a javelin. She hits the virus with much force, that it is toppled off its spiny legs before she flies away from it. The mutated Dream Virus roars in anger as it gets up and fires its beams at them again, but this time it's on a rampage. Having the advantage of flight, which Rouge is thankful on having the Falzer form on, they avoided the beams as they back from the charging virus.

"Ugh… if we don't stop it now, it's going to affect the real world." Storm Eagle points out, as he avoids the beams which hit some of the data in front of them. And the New Gen knows that he's right, as he hears faint explosion outside.

"Right." The female navi states and immediately turns around, her arm forms into a buster similar to the Wide Shot chips. "Feather Shoot!" and shoots sharp diamond-like bullets at the virus. It yelps in pain as the feathers hits one of the arms, thus stopping the beams.

"Now!" Sora shouts, as both navis nodded and flies high in the air. Then they both dive towards the virus, as Rouge changes the Feather Shoot into Falzer Claw. They hit the virus right on the chest, then immediately soars away from the virus as it frails wildly on the pain. Then Storm Eagle notices something in the middle of the chest cavity.

"What's that?" the former reploid asked, on seeing the strange orange dome inside the virus.

The brunette sees it and immediately recognizes it. "That's the core!" she points out. "You guys, aim for the core!"

Both navi nodded and once more dives at the virus, targeting the core. But the mutated Dream Virus immediately covers its exposed core with one of its arms and fires beams at them. Both navis quickly back away, seeing that it is protecting its chest and it is countering back. "Ugh! We can't hit it! Its arm is in the way!" Rouge points out, as she back flips in the air to avoid another beam.

"Crap, we have to get that arm off the chest." The brunette states as she wonders how to rid of the said cover.

"I have an idea." Axl said, after seeing the battle and remembering Storm Eagle's attacks. "Storm, blow it's guard off with Storm Tornado. Rouge, you aim for the core."

The Net Saviour looks at him for a moment and nods in agreement. "You heard him, knock that virus off its feet!"

Immediately, the reborn avian reploid turns around as the female navi distracts the virus with Feather Shoot. On getting closer, he immediately unleashed his Storm Tornado at the virus, giving it a ride on the wind before it crashes down on the system's floor. The force is enough to get the arm out of the way, as the virus frails and attempts to get up. Not letting the mutated virus up, Rouge immediately dive toward the exposed core with Falzer Claw and tore thru it. The virus roared weakly before it stopped moving, and then it turns into cubes before dissolving away. Landing on a platform, she sighs in relief as her Falzer form is deactivated.

"Great job, Rouge." Storm Eagle said, as he lands beside her.

"Thank you, Storm." She replied, as a screen appears on her side.

"Yeah, Thank you for helping out but I have some questions… you don't mind?" the brunette asked.

"… Very well, what is it you wanted to ask?"

"Who revived you? And the others?"

"I don't really know, but I do know one thing… the one who revived me is different from the one who revived Sigma and the others."

"You mean, there's another person who revived you?" Axl asked, as the two girls wonder who are reviving the mavericks into Net Navis. Nevertheless, the two have to make another cover story on those people who are bringing old enemies back as Rouge's kind, as they have no idea on who are behind these net crimes.

'I'm pretty sure that Duo is not behind this…' she thought as she looks back at the former reploid. "Well, what are you going to do now? Considering you've delivered the message to us already." she asked.

"… I don't really know." As he looks at the ground and wonders what to do with his acquired freedom. The brunette and her partner look at one another and then decided to bring him back to the Hunter base, much to the raptor's shock. Storm tries to reason with her that he does not have a good record, as he was force to go maverick against his will in the first war. But Sora points out that the past is the past and not to let it anchor him. Rouge then added that he can redeem himself by helping others, instead of wandering the net like certain finned navi she knows. The former hunter looks at the two, as the New Gen just stand beside the brunette as he listens thru that.

The young hunter couldn't help but to smile, as he makes sure that the cleaning mechaniloids stays away from his sister. It took some time but he agreed to come with them and return to the Hunter base, as he misses being a hunter. The Net Saviour takes out a PET, which Spider used before he accepted the space trip with Duo, Barrel, Colonel and Aile. Now it became a spare, in case her PET breaks or to transfer files or programs… and now it can even carry good navified reploids.

Once Storm Eagle transfers to the spare PET, Rouge returns to hers after making sure there are no viruses left in the system. And by Axl's suggestion, the two girl Cross Fuse once more and surprising the avian navi again.

'So that's why…' he thought, as they make their way out of the building and heads back to the base.

**:::^*^:::**

Arriving back, Sora once more reassures the navified avian reploid as Rouge makes sure he's calm. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure they'll be… surprise that you're back as a Net Navi. But I bet X and Zero will be happy to see that you're back as a good guy!"

"That and you got a witness to attest to it." Rouge added as she looks at the New Gen reploid while making their way to the Command Center. Arriving there, the navigators congratulate the two girls on their first mission, as Axl did a good job on watching over her. The two then salutes at Signas and reports on what happened in the Traffic Control Center. The report somehow sobers the cheerful atmosphere, as they report about the Dream Virus that wrecked the system.

"But I was able to get assistance and the Dream Virus is deleted." The brunette finished.

"Assistance? Is it from another NetOp?" the Hunter's Commander asked.

"Somewhat…" as she looks at the spare PET on her pocket.

"What do you mean?" The blue hunter asked, as he and Zero remain in the Command Center during the whole mission, just in case something happens.

"Promise not to get mad?" Sora asked, as the navigators and hunters, aside from Axl, looks at one another and wondering why.

"Cause we bought the said helper back." Axl points out, earning him and his sister surprise looks on them.

"It's here?!" Pallette yelps as the brunette takes the spare PET out of her pocket, and Rouge hops out of her PET.

"You can come out now." She said at the said helper, as the female navi waits outside the Spare PET. It took him a moment before he flies out of the device in a small holographic form, like Rouge does. While the others are intrigued on the new navi, X and Zero recognize who it is…

"Storm Eagle?!" They exclaimed, making the others jump while Sora and Axl did not, as they see it coming.

"You've been resurrected too? Are you the one who let that virus in the system?" X asked. Although, inside he seems a bit happy to see him again, despite the fact that there's a possibility that he probably caused the trouble in the traffic system. The latter question earns him a look from the brunette.

"No. He helped us defeated the Dream Virus." The brunette corrects him.

"Are you sure?" Zero asked. "He's one of the mavericks X defeated in the first war… and he could be those rogue navis."

"Storm Eagle was a maverick. Look on the past term 'was'." She points out bluntly, as she place her hands on her hips and the blue and red hunter looks at her. "Now he's a Net Navi, he helped me beat the Dream Virus and warned me about Sigma. And another thing, even though I said rogue navis are enemies to the system, I did not say ALL of them are."

After that, no one speaks as the two hunters are stun that she would defend a former maverick.

"So… what now?" Axl asked, breaking the silence causing everyone to look at him. "I mean, if what Storm Eagle said is true? That Sigma and his followers became Net Navis like these two?" pointing at Rouge and Storm Eagle.

"Does that mean only Sora and Rouge can stand up against him?" Pallette asked, as she remembers how Chill Penguin is not affected by their best hunters attacks and only the Net Saviour's Cross Fusion would work on a materialize Net Navi.

"That and both Sora and Rouge are officially on Sigma's hit list." Axl points out. Everyone in the room reacted badly on that info, making the brunette jump on that one. They asked the New Gen if it is true and he replied that it was Storm Eagle who told them about it. They asked the avian navi if it's true and why he warned them about Sigma. He replied that he was revived by a different programmer from the one who resurrected the others, and that he was told to warn the Net Saviour about it. Then the brunette added and guessed that the ones, who revived Storm Eagle and the other mavericks, possibly came from her hometown and survivors like her and her friends.

The brunette sighs heavily at the new problem. '… If only Enzan, Laika and Rockman are here.' as the thought of fighting the said former maverick leader on her own seems to sour her mood. But now, she convinces to them that Storm Eagle is good now. He decided to redeem himself by becoming an additional protection on the base's system. Although, Signas seems to be willing to give the avian navi a chance, both X and Zero are a little skeptical about it.

But on seeing the brunette and her partner talking with their former friend, as their young friend looks okay with it… '… Might as well give it a shot.' The blue hunter thought, as she transfer Storm Eagle into the system.

**:::^*^:::**

After making sure that Storm Eagle is settled in the base's system, the Net Saviour breathes out of exhaustion as she steps in her temporary room. "Man, talk about wipe out." As the door close shut behind her and walks to the living room.

"Agreed to that." Rouge replied, as her partner let herself drop on the couch. "But I'm glad that Storm Eagle is accepted back in the Hunters."

"True… still, who are the ones reviving the mavericks?"

Her navi nods at that. "Right now, all we know is that there's another person who revived Storm Eagle… from what I guess that person might be our ally."

"Could it be that these people, who are reviving mavericks, are what we're looking for?"

"It might be, considering that this world does not have the right equipment to counter against cyber attacks or hacking." As her partner sighs and lean back on her seat.

"But how did these people know about Net Navis? And not to mention the Dream Virus."

"I guess that machine has to do with it, the one that sent us to this world." Her navi points out.

"Hmmm… you're right, it could be possible they came from our world. And now they're wrecking havoc since this world is not that advance in programming… well except for the one who revived Storm Eagle."

And as they think on the ones who are reviving the navis, a distorted noise went off from the PET. "So… Can yo… ear me?"

"A transmission?"

"So… you hear…"

"Dad?!" Sora exclaims on recognizing the voice, then she hears another one and it is calling for her. "Rockman!"

"Sora… n yo… ar me…!"

"Dad?! Rockman?!"

"Sor… re ali…!" although the sound is fuzzy, both girls can tell that the blue navi is happy to hear his sister is alive. But the joyful contact is cut short and the brunette tries to call for her father and her brother again.

"Dad?! Rockman?!" he calls, but she only got the fuzzy noise again. "… Drat."

"It will be hard for them to contacts us, given that we're in a different world and this is not Beyondard." Rouge points out.

"Yeah, this world have different frequency… we better find who's messing up this world and fast." Her navi agreed with her, as they have a feeling that those people could be the answer on getting back home.

**:::^*^:::**

"Sora! Sora?!" Yuuichiro calls again, using a similar machine that he used to call her and her friends in Beyondard but with a few adjustments. Then the machine loses its power and died. "So close…" as he have heard his daughter's voice thru the speakers.

"But she's alive." Rockman points out and joy is evident in his voice.

"Yes." Nodding at his digital son, he then looks back at the machine he is working on. The very machine that sent his daughter into another world. "We'll definitely get your sister back."

* * *

Silver: Mind you, this chapter is a pain to re-edit… I mean, I wanted to add more scenes, but at the same time it needs to be minimal. I decided to give some character on Richard Payne. He is the man who is more concern on humanity, but has a few issues on the reploids. But it doesn't mean he dislike them, as he allowed Sora and her partner to stay with the Hunters. Also, if you are wondering what cover-up story about the 'hidden town' the brunette has two ideas that's she'll mix… One is Spectrum (for those who watched the Rockman EXE movie, you know what I'm pointing at.) and the other is the Eurasia Crash site, as she have enough time to read or research about the parallel world's history.


	14. Zero virus vs Zero virus

Connected Hearts – Zero virus vs. Zero virus

Hikari: Double Trouble special! Guess who is returning in this story? That's right! It's Zero's counterpart: Zero.exe! And he'll play a crucial part in Zero's life! (or his system…) So what are you waiting for? Read away! "Watches the Maverick Hunters setting up the fireworks."

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Rockman.exe or MMX, if I do I… I got no more ideas. XD)

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Zero virus vs. Zero virus

"Okay… Ikuso Rouge!" Sora said, as her Net Navi charge at the oncoming virus, led by Spark Mandrill. Fortunately, the reborn maverick navi is like his old self, he still lacking in intelligence. So the net battle was short and easy, and Spark Mandrill is deleted in a short time.

"Good job, Rouge." Sora said, logging her Net Navi out of the computer.

"It's no big, Sora-kun." Rouge said, as she appears on her shoulder again. "Spark Mandrill was really dumb, he can't tell the difference between that Kawarimi and me."

"Yeah, but still we should stay alert, remember what Storm Eagle said: Sigma and his lackeys were reborn again as Net Navis." Sora reminded her partner

"Hai, Sora-kun." Rouge said, as Sora checks on the security system… It seems okay. So she decided to hang out with X and Zero in the training facility, and transform into her CF form.

(At the training facility)

"Put more effort in it!" Zero shouts, at some newly recruits. Apparently, both X and Zero got themselves some more recruits and they are assign to train them. And the ones who got Zero as their mentor… is well, having quite a difficulty…

When CF Rouge came and saw Zero, she sweatdropped on Zero's "bad" side on training the newcomers. 'Geez, Zero-sempai is… so… bad? Wait, that's not the word I'm looking for… Mmmm… Oh! I know! Violent! Zero-sempai is so violent these days.' CF Rouge thought, as she watch her two mentors teaching the rookies about fighting the mavericks as a team. Then Axl came.

"Hey Sora." He greeted.

"Hey Axl, is Zero-sempai… like that?" CF Rouge asked, pointing at the violent-red-armored-teacher.

"… Yeah, sometimes…" Axl said, scratching the back of his head. "Hey do you want a practice battle? You and me, one-on-one." He said.

"Bring it on." CF Rouge said, and the two entered a vacant training room.

(A few moments later)

"Darn it…" Axl grumbled as he walks to the infirmary. It seems that CF Rouge have improve a lot and is able to learn the Wall Climbing ability. Despite its useless, since she got jet boosters on her foot, she found it useful on stopping her fall or on a stealth mission. As she exit her CF form, Zero came by.

"Hey Sora." Zero greeted.

"Hey, how are the new rookies?" Sora asked.

"They are very slow learners." Zero said, as he cross his arms while Sora sweatdropped on what he said.

"Ehehe… ummm… Zero-sempai, I think you should teach them the basics instead of the advance." Sora suggested, on what she observe on her mentor, he tend to teach the rookies advance skills rather than the basics… a lot.

"Then how are we suppose to eliminate the mavericks if we only know the basics?" Zero asked back.

"But learning the basics can help learning the advance skills easier and faster." Sora explained.

"But it will take a long time." Zero said.

"At least the rookies are in one piece." Rouge said, interrupting the small argument. And Sora saw the group of rookies that Zero have trained. "I agree with you, Rouge." Sora said to her partner before looking at the rookies. "All of you, go to the Lifesaver. Now." She said commandingly.

And the rookies couldn't agree more to her, as they help each other out to head to the infirmary. Then Rouge suddenly sense a nearby virus but couldn't pin point where, then it suddenly disappeared from her sensor. After that, Sora and Rouge left to the suite and to check the internet.

That's because she wanted to know the world she is staying a bit, as they walk thru the hallway. "Sora-kun, cool down, I know Zero-sempai is rough but what can we do? He's a commanding officer of the 0th unit and the top rank Maverick Hunter." Rouge said.

"I know, but can't he be a little concern on the rookies?" Sora asked. "I mean, they're beginners, unlike me who have experience fighting viruses that is crossing into reality and maverick. And add to all that, I'm a human!"

"With nanobots in her body." Rouge added, and Sora rolled her eyes back.

"Look, I didn't even know that I have nanobots in my body when I joined the Net Saviours." Sora countered.

"Fine…" Rouge said in defeat as the two reaches the suite. Then Sora enters it and heads into the office corner of the room, where the computer is.

"Ready?" Sora asked, and Rouge nodded. "Okay… Plug-in! Rouge! Transmission!" she said, and points her PET at the plug-in port.

(Inside the network)

Rouge flew thru the network, looking at everything and bringing some information to Sora about the new world. But when she is trying to download on information about a hidden Maverick base, she notice a black void by the left. "… I wonder…" Rouge said, and ignored the file and enters the void.

And there she found an alternate version of UraNet. "Whoa… this place is much more creepier than back home." She commented, before she yelped upon seeing a dead body of a program.

True, unlike back home, the place looks more chaotic and there are more dead programs floating around. As she flew around the place, she suddenly bump on something… it is huge and hard. It's a file container, and on the side of the box is the letter W and a pair of words: Project Zero.

"Project Zero?" Rouge asked, looking at the container. "This must be contained the schematic and plans about Zero-sempai… But why is it here, and why is the letter W bothering me?"

A few minutes later, she shrug it off and took the container file to Sora. Upon arriving back to the computer, the alarm went off. "What the?!" Rouge yelped, then Sora ran to the computer from the kitchen.

"Rouge, Maverick on the loose! We have to catch up with X and Zero." Sora said, as she plug-out her Net Navi and ran off to the command center. While the computer began to blink as if its saying that it has completed downloading the file that Rouge have found.

(At the city)

"Die!" Zero shouts furiously, as he slices the maverick in half… one-fourth… one-eighth… one-sixteenth.

"Whoa! Zero, that's overkill!" CF Rouge yelped, as she and X had to hold the Red Hunter back from dicing the poor maverick even more. After eliminating the mavericks form the area, CF Rouge notice that Zero still have the looks to kill. 'He seriously need to cool down.' She thought, as X calls for Alia for teleportation.

(Back at the Maverick Hunter HQ)

As soon as the four are back from the battlefield, they parted and Sora went back to her suite. Upon arriving, Sora places her PET on the desk near her computer, while she prepares for a nice warm shower. Rouge, then notice that the file container she found have finish downloading. "Sora, there are file I found in the UraNet. And it's about Zero." She said.

"Really?" Sora asked, and Rouge nodded. "I'll look at it, after I wash off the stinking oil off me." She said and enters the bathroom.

An hour later, Sora dressed herself up and sat on the computer chair. "Okay let's see who you are, Project Zero…" Sora said, as Rouge manage to open to container and began to read nearly everything.

"Woah… building relpoids is hard, programming it's personally and purpose is one thing but building one… nuh-uh." Sora said, as she rub her eyes out from all the complicated parts.

"Hey, I found something." Rouge said, picking the folder up. "I think it's a journal, of some sort."

"Well… open it." Sora said, and Rouge opens the file and began reading it, which she nearly reboot when she saw who wrote and planned Project Zero. "Sora, you're not gonna believe this." Rouge stated out.

"What?" Sora asked.

"The one who built Zero is … Dr. Wily." Rouge said, while Sora could only stare at her Net Navi.

"You're joking, right?" Sora asked, but Rouge shook her head and points at the signature at the end of each pages. Then Sora quickly grabbed a pillow, covered her face with it and screams at it. "That is crazy! Zero-sempai was created by that lunatic, who is bent on world domination, and not to mention that he flipped over the good side and is working along with my dad in SciLab!" Sora said, nearly falling off her chair.

"**Whoa, hold on there, cowgirl. **I know this is sound crazy, but we're in a different world. So the mad scientist created Zero is possible." Rouge stated out and Sora looks at her.

"Maybe… but I can't accept the fact that Zero-sempai was created by Dr. Wily." Sora said.

"Could it be that he built Zero, the other Wily, wanted to redeem himself for all his mistakes?" Rouge asked.

"I dunno…but let's read his journal to find out." Sora said and they read the other Wily's journal… only to discover that some parts of his life are similar to the Wily back at their home, and about the Maverick Virus.

"No hell way! Zero was built to destroy Megaman, whoever this guy is, and X!" Sora exclaimed.

"And also, he is the one who is responsible on the Maverick Virus, Zero was it's original carrier and it is once called the Zero Virus!" Rouge said, then they suddenly thought of something. "Is it me, or is this situation getting too cliché?" she asked, as Sora shrugs and then she notice the last page of the journal and smiled a bit.

"Hey, when is Zero's bedtime?" Sora asked, and Rouge knew that tone of her voice… it's time for virus busting.

(Several hours passed)

"So let me get this straight, the only reason that Zero is no longer a maverick is that Sigma fought against him, came in contact with the virus and is transferred to him." Sora said, after reading a few information she and Rouge found from the HQ's database.

Rouge nodded. "By that, the virus factory in Zero's system was shut down and somewhat created a second program in him." She said.

"Second? You mean the Zero, we all know, is a second program?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, don't you remember? Zero's original program is to destroy Megaman and X, no more, no less." Rouge said.

"Then what happen to his original program?" Sora asked.

"It must be still inside his system, sleeping or wandering around waiting for the right time to strike on X." Rouge said, then she notice the time. "Sora, it's time."

"Okay… Rouge, please disable the security system?" Sora asked.

"Will do, Sora-kun." Rouge said, as she dive into the HQ's network system.

That night, Sora easily walked to Zero's room with a small problem, she nearly slip on her butt, thanks to a wet floor. "Geez, when will the janitor clean that up… or better yet, fix the leak?" Sora said, as she notice a leak on one of the pipes. When Sora reaches Zero's room, Rouge opens the door for her and Sora quietly slips in. Then Sora log out Rouge and is return into the PET, and Sora silently heads to his bedroom. And with luck, she found Zero in the recharging capsule and it is a good thing, because she can plug into the reploid easily thru there.

"Ready Rouge?" Sora asked, and Rouge nodded. "Plug-in! Rouge! Transmission!" she said, and points the PET into the plug-in port of the capsule. And soon Rouge is sent flying thru all the network and found her way into Zero's system.

(Inside Zero's system)

Rouge landed on a bloody red platform and began searching for the factory. "Okay… if I were a factory, where would I be…?" Rouge asked herself, as she looks around and there she saw a bulky shape shadow on the horizon. "Maybe that's it." She said and jumps off the platform and ran to that area.

But unknown to her, a pair of red eyes are watching her…

Upon arriving the area, she finally found the virus factory she been looking for. "Found it!" she said, and observed the place but when she touches it the factory suddenly came into life!

"What the!?" Rouge yelped and notice that the factory is beginning to make the virus. "I better destroy this thing before the virus spread out! WHOA!" Rouge yelped as she dodges an oncoming attack from nowhere. Then she heard a menacing laugh, Rouge turns around and couldn't believe on what she saw.

"Dark Blues?!" Rouge yelped.

"Excuse me? Who is this Dark Blues are you talking about? I'm the Red Demon." The Dark Blues look-alike sneered.

"He's not Dark Blues alright…" Sora said, with a mix of relief and fear.

"Thank goodness on that." Rouge answered on that, but the two can't help to wonder… how did the heck did Zero's original programming became a Net Navi like Rouge and Storm Eagle?

"What are you doing here in my domain?" The Red Demon asked.

"I think that you're the original program but since I sense some negativity from you, I'm going to delete you." Rouge said, raising her R-Buster and pointed it to the Red Demon.

"No… I'm his other self." Red Demon said. "And you're a Net Navi… fascinating… but you are still way out of my league."

"Whatever, just get your butt ready to deleted!" Rouge shouts, and release a Charge shot to the Red Demon who easily dodge it.

"Area Steal! Slot-in!" Sora said, and Rouge disappeared and appears on one side of the corner. Then Rouge uses her chain and attacks the Red Demon, but he easily caught the tip of the chain like it was nothing. Rouge's eyes widen as Red Demon smiled maliciously, and grabs the rest of the chain. He then tosses her into the air, and he summons his Z-Saber and jumps after her.

"Variable sword! Slot-in!" Sora said, as Rouge's arm took form of a sword with a wide V-shape tip. Rouge successfully blocked the attack, but she is forcefully push down by the Red Demon. She crashes on the platform, creating a crater.

"Rouge!" Sora shout worriedly at her partner.

Rouge got up coughing a bit, but she gave her NetOp a thumbs up. "I'm okay." Rouge said, then evaded another energy beam attack from the Red Demon.

"I'm going to destroy you!" Red Demon shouts, as he charges at Rouge with his sword.

"Don't you mean delete you? Then again, you're not a Net Navi!" Rouge shouts, as their sword collided with one another. She then pushes the Red Demon back and summons her R-Buster again, and began shooting. "Sora! We need to find a way to get rid of that factory or else Zero is going to be a maverick!"

"Right" Sora said.

(Back in the real world)

Sora fumbled in her pocket, taking out all her chips she had. "Vulcan, Super Vulcan, Z-Saber, X-Buster, Ratton, Bamboo Sword, Gold Fist… Oh man, what should I use." Sora whine, as she frantically tries to find a chip that would help her friend. Then she notices a chip beneath the pile… the gift that the other Zero from her world gave. "Maybe…" she wondered.

Then she suddenly heard Rouge yelped in pain. "Rouge!" Sora shouts "Zero Virus Chip! Slot-in!" she said.

(In Zero's system)

The Red Demon is laughing evilly as he holds Rouge by the neck. "It was fun, but too bad it has to end." He sneered, as he is about to stab his sword into Rouge, he heard a huge explosion and a lot of noises. He then was attack from behind and Rouge fell on the floor. He looks behind him and saw that the virus factory is destroyed, and the virus that was made by the factory is being deleted by 15 strange looking virus.

"No… this can't be happening." The Red Demon said.

"Oh, yes it is and it's game over, Red Demon." Rouge said, as she charge up a Charge Shot. But he began laughing, and Rouge looked at him as if he lost his head.

"Oh no… it's not." Red Demon said and summons a crystal-looking capsule from the ground. And inside is… Zero! And he's sleeping inside, not knowing that his life is in danger.

"Zero!" Both Rouge and Sora shouts.

"Now watch…" The Red Demon said, as he made a cut on his left arm then a cut appears on Zero left arm! Sora and Rouge are shock, what the Red Demon said is true, he's Zero's other self.

"Sora, what should we do? We can't kill him." Rouge said.

"But we can't leave that thing unattended." Sora said, when all of the sudden, the Red Demon attacks her. "Rouge!" she shouts

"Rouge got up and evaded another attack. "Z-Saber! Slot-in!" Sora said, as a sword handle appeared on Rouge's hand, and she got hold of it the green blade took form.

"Sora! You know I can't delete him!" Rouge shouts.

"I didn't slot that in to kill him, use it to defend yourself!" Sora snapped, and Rouge nodded and blocks an oncoming attack from the Red Demon.

(Back at the real world)

"Aw man… We manage to get rid of the virus factory, but there is still a threat in his system." Sora muttered angrily. "What should I do?" Sora cursed herself, when she suddenly saw a red blur on the screen and attacks the Red Demon.

"Huh?" Sora said in surprise, and both of the girls are shock on who they saw. "Zero.exe!"

(In Zero's system.)

The Red Demon was pushed back by a sudden force and saw who attacked him. It is a red navi with a blond hair, and looks a bit similar to his other self and him except for the face.

"Who are you?" the Red Demon asked.

"I am… Zero." Zero.exe said, as he readied his sword.

"You're alive!" Rouge said.

"But how-?" Sora asked, remembering how he sacrifice his life to get Zero One out of the Net Saviours' HQ's system.

"I back myself up in the battle chip, which I given you as a gift." Zero.exe said.

"YOU WHAT?!" Rouge exclaimed. "And we're mourning at your deletion, wait till I-"

"Rouge, stop, we need much help we can get to get rid of the Red Demon." Sora said, and the two nodded.

"Rouge, can you distract him?" Zero.exe asked.

"Why?" Rouge asked.

"I have plan, just distract him as much as you can." Zero.exe said, and Rouge gave him a thumbs up. And so the two splits, as Rouge distracts the Red Demon, Zero.exe quickly heads to his counterpart's capsule.

"Hold on, Rouge." Sora said, as Zero.exe began to download something in his body and Rouge is evading every attack the enemy is throwing at her. And when the download is complete, Zero.exe quickly closed the capsule and shouts at Rouge. "Rouge! Now!" Zero.exe shouts.

"Right! Program Advance!" Both Sora and Rouge shouts. "Elec! Aqua! Bamboo! Flame sword! Slot-in!" Sora said, slotting in the four chips, which took form what looks like a simple sword.

"What?" Red Demon said

"Elemental Sword!" Rouge shouts, and charges at the Red Demon. "Take this!" she shouted and, and slashes the Red Demon four times, each showing different elemental colors. And soon he turns into particle data and an audible computer voice said: DELETED.

"All right!" Sora said.

"The Red Demon is gone, Zero is saved, and the other Zero is… wait, where is he?" Rouge said, as she and Sora looked around and by horror, they saw Zero.exe fading into particle data. "Oh no…" Rouge said.

"Zero.exe!" Sora shouts, as her Net Navi ran to their fallen friend. "Hey, are you okay?" Rouge asked.

"… Thank you… for taking good… care of me…" Zero.exe said.

"Hey, don't say that. You're going to be okay, Sora can fix you." Rouge said, as she lifted him up and as she is about to log out when…

"No… you can't… If you repair me… the Red Demon shall return." Zero.exe said.

"Wait… what did you exactly do to the other Zero?" Sora asked.

"In order… to save him… I have to place the link… between him and the Red Demon into my body… Since I'm his counterpart… And both of our data… are nearly similar…" Zero.exe said.

"But why? Why do you have to…" Rouge said, as tears began to form in her eyes. You may never tell if Zero.exe is sad or smiling gently by his face, but his eyes tells them otherwise.

"Rouge… Sora… Thank you for… being my… friends…" Zero.exe said, as he disappears into particle data and an audible computer voice said: ZERO.EXE DELETED.

Both girls began to cry, but they held it back as Sora log Rouge out of Zero's system and plug her in the security system, they quickly head back to their suite. But they soon walk out of it, carrying a small pot of flower and heads outside. There Sora destroyed the chip that Zero.exe have given to her and places it into a small bag, along with a picture of herself, Rouge, Rockman and Zero.exe. She then dug a hole and places it and planted the flower there. As she cover the roots with the earth.

"Zero is lucky to have an angel like him." Sora said, but Rouge smiled gently and looks at the grave of their friend.

"No, Zero is lucky to have three angels by his side." Rouge said.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Zero got three angels: his counterpart, me and you." Rouge said pointing at Sora. "If it weren't for her counterpart Zero would've get deleted, if it would've for me he still got a virus and that freaky original program and if would've for your concern and caring heart, well… we wouldn't able to save Zero from his original programming and virus on time."

Sora smiled a bit. "Thanks Rouge" She said, as she took a hose and watered the flower.

(The next day)

Sora's eyes are slightly puffy and she kept yawning every time.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Axl asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah… I'm cool." Sora replied, as she yawned again. Then Zero came in, in a very great mood.

"Morning everyone!" Zero said cheerfully, which made Axl and Sora jumped a bit.

"Hey Z, you're in a great mood today." Axl said, and Zero nodded and began to remember his dream last night.

(Flashback)(Dream)

As usual, Zero is destroying mavericks then X came and began calling him a maverick. But before X could pull the trigger, something pulled Zero into the darkness.

When he woke up, he saw a weird looking place and a scary-like reploid in front of him. Zero wanted to asked him something but, again, he black out.

When he woke up, he's back in the place where X called him a maverick and attempt to shoot him. And by cue, there he is and is pointing his buster at Zero. For once, he felt scared and braced himself for the pain to come. But when X is about to shoot him with a fully charge shot, someone stopped him by placing a hand in his buster.

It was Sora.

She told X something and he looks at Zero then at her, then he smiled and turns his buster off. The she ran to Zero and lend him a hand.

"It's okay, it's gone… you're no longer one of them." Sora said. Zero didn't understand what she meant, but took her hand and was suddenly got blinded by the light.

(End of Flashback)(End of Dream)

Zero would never thought of Sora joining in his dream, nevertheless he was thankful that she was there to stop the nightmare.

But he can't stop wondering one thing… Who was that red, scary-looking reploid who suddenly appeared in his dream?

He then shrugs it off and only thinks of it as a dream, and right now, he'll try to cheer Sora up. "Hey Sora, do you want to go to the city or something?" Zero asked.

Sora looks at Zero. "Don't we have paperwork today? We have to do that or else X will go on a suing spree about how irresponsible we are." Sora said. She maybe a fun-loving girl but not irresponsible, that's for sure.

"X can understand" Zero said, as he grabs Sora and Axl. "A trip to the city won't hurt anyway."

And before Sora could protest, Zero dragged them to the Chaser hangar and soon they are heading to the city.

Maybe Zero is right.

Sora needed a few break for a while, but she sure on one thing: X will go on a suing spree. But like what Zero said, who cares, and she soon joins in the fun with Zero and Axl.

Back in the suite, in the computer, which she forgot to turn off, are the original blueprints and schematics of Zero… and the last page of Dr.Wily's journal. There he confesses almost everything of his mistakes and his sins, and he wanted to apologize to his old colleague friend… but it was too late. And on the very last sentences before he died, he wrote:

_Bass, Zero… I know you may not call me your father but I never have any regret on building the both of you…_

_I hope you both forgive me…_

And Sora, who read that page, felt sorry for the other Wily. He wanted to redeemed himself for all his mistakes, but came too late.

'Don't worry… I'm sure, Zero will forgive you.' Sora thought, as she and Axl are fighting one-on-one on a shooting game.

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Hikari: Finally! It's done! And Happy New Year folks! "Watches the fireworks." Nice firework, you two, especially the effects. "she commented Zero and Axl, as Vile and the other mavericks fell off the sky." Don't forget to read and Review!


	15. The strange just gets stranger

Connected Hearts – The strange just gets stranger

Hikari: IT LIVES! IT LIVES! "coughcough, clears throat" Hi guys! We're back and there another character returning in the scene, a new equipment for our heroine and the biggest clue yet!!!!!!

X: What clue?

Hikari: I won't tell you, I might spoil the audience…… And for my reviewers:

Musically Gone: Yeah, It's very tearful to see Zero.exe die… "Cries"

jhvh777: Don't worry, Axl will… in some time… "sweatdrops"

Yami Amy Lau: Do not worry, he will tell her soon. He's just being afraid of being rejected!

Hikari: By the way, I fixed something in chapter 13, instead of Search Soul she slot-in during the battle between the Mutated virus, she slot-in a Scope Gun… you'll find out why in this chapter.

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Rockman.exe or MMX, if I do I would delete Sigma from existance. XD)

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The strange just gets stranger

"Sora! Look out!" X yelped, as he jumps over a box, grabs Sora and ducks for cover. Then they popped their head out from the hiding place and observed the damage the enemy made on the ground, which Sora was standing. "Sora, combine with your partner now." X said sternly.

"It's called Cross fusion!" Sora snapped, as she uses her Buster Pistol on the mavericks. There is another maverick attack and X, Zero, Axl and Sora were sent there to stop it, except for one thing: Sora didn't use her CF form and is using the Buster Pistol because she wanted to test it. Which made X and Axl yelling at her to Cross fuse right now… And X began wondering, since when did Axl cared for her?

"Okay, fine, I'll cross fuse right now!" Sora snapped, as she took out her Synchro Chip and cross fuse with her Net Navi. She then activates her Spider Soul, which is happens to be the only Soul Unison that Rouge and CF Rouge can transform into, with the exception of the two Beast Out forms. As X and Zero tries to find the main enemy, Rouge began notice something strange about Axl.

"Can't they stop turning reploids into mavericks…? I'm starting to dislike it and if only my partner is here, we would go virus-busting!" Axl said, as he took his bazooka out from the subspace and fires it at the mavericks.

Rouge made a face about it. "Sora, did you heard what Axl said?" Rouge asked.

"What?" CF Rouge asked dumbly as she throws another card at the maverick.

"Axl said something about virus-busting…" Rouge said.

"You must be hearing things, Rouge. He do not know anything about Net Navis and virus-busting" CF Rouge said, and Rouge slowly agrees about it.

After they destroyed the mavericks, they teleport back to the base and X has a long talk with Sora about her attitude and her safety. Zero and Axl, on the other hand, heads to the lounge to have a small break before heading to the training facility.

(The next day…)

There is another virus attack and Sora and Rouge must stop them before they take control of the reploid factory. "Is it me? Or are the viruses are getting smarter day by day?" Rouge asked, as she and Zero arrived at the factory and there they met up with Axl.

"I don't think so, Rouge. Viruses are just mindless drones and they usually do what they are program in, my best bet is on Sigma and his lackeys." Sora said. "Except for Zero.exe" she whispered to herself and Rouge.

"I agree, it would be a nightmare if a virus has a mind of its own." Zero said, and Sora glared at him. He just, by fat chance, insulted his own counterpart, Zero.exe… but she ignores it for Zero didn't really know what happened the past 3 days. And so they entered the facility and rushes to the control room, but they encounter some problem along the way… mavericks.

Well, it's a reploid factory, duh?!

After clearing the way, the two reploid quickly shut the door and Sora quickly plug Rouge in.

(Inside the factory's system)

"WHOA!" Rouge yelped in surprise, as she evaded a Shockwave attack from the Metools virus then she shot back at them with her buster. "That was close- What the hell?!" she yelped again when she saw what's going on.

There are a million of viruses running around in the system, and some are entering a portal. Sora guessed that thing leads to the reploids' system, and she must stop them quick. "Rouge, we have to get rid all of them." Sora said.

"Yeah." Rouge said, as she summons her Rouge's Chain and ran into battle. As she began deleting the viruses, Sora began to have a trail of thoughts… First of all, why are there Net Navis in this world if there are no documents or history or files about it. Second, who's the guy who resurrected Sigma and his lackeys into Net Navis, and does he want to conquer the world with them or something? Third, how come Storm Eagle warned her of the incoming danger and who resurrect him… and fourth, does she have a chance to find her way home?

"AH!" Rouge yelped as she got hit by her shoulder.

Sora snaps out of trance and looks at Rouge worriedly. "Rouge! Are you okay?" Sora asked.

"Yeah… I'm okay, it's not that serious." Rouge said, as she winces a bit.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked.

"Yeah." Rouge said.

"Sora!" Zero shouts.

(Back in reality)

"Sora! You better do this quick or this door is going down!" Zero shouts, as he and Axl held on the door to block the mavericks. They serious need back-up right now, by that Zero decided to call for help. "This is Zero, there are too many mavericks, and we need back-up right now" Zero said thru his communicator.

"Right, I'm sending X right now." Pallette said.

"Thanks." Zero said, when Sora yelped. "What's wrong?" Axl asked.

"I think I saw a purple streak of light." Sora said, and the three immediately realize one thing. "Storm Eagle!" they exclaimed.

(In the network)

The purple light began attacking the viruses like a torpedo and strong winds deleted it in the way. Rouge stood up and Storm Eagle landed right beside her, and gave her a Recovery 100 Chip. "Nice to see you again, Storm." Rouge said.

"Yeah… don't worry, my NetOp is here." Storm Eagle said, and Sora and Rouge looks at each other.

"You have a NetOp?" Sora and Rouge asked, then she, Zero and Axl jumped by the sudden noise.

(In reality)

The three jumped when they suddenly heard several blasts from the door, then someone knock on the door as if the person or reploid is a salesman or a delivery guy. The three looks at each other and decided to open the door. As they prepare their weapons, Zero's Z-Saber, Axl's Axl Bullets and Sora's Buster Pistol, they opened the door and Zero couldn't believed who he saw.

"Gate!?" Zero exclaimed, as the purple scientist reploid entered the room and shuts the door.

"I have no time to explain, we need to get rid of the virus factory that was set in the factory's main system." Gate stated out, and began looking for someone. "Where's Sora?" he asked.

"… Ummm… right here?" Sora said, as she waved at Gate. And he is shocked and unable to speak, a human girl became a Hunter along with a Net Navi named Rouge… Other reploids who have very high prides will see it as an absurdity, but on this case, they might make than exception since the new virus outbreak.

"She's Rouge's NetOp?!" Gate asked, and Storm Eagle mentally slapped himself for forgetting to tell Gate about Rouge's NetOp.

"Uh… yeah, she is." Axl said, with a lot of confusion. He then looks at Zero, who still looked quite baffled, and snapped him out of it. "Hey, Z, who's Gate?" he asked.

"He is a friend of Alia. He's a scientist and specializes on researching and creating stronger reploids." Zero explained. "But he went maverick and resurrected his creations, but X and I beat him. However, Gate reactivated a half-completed Sigma as a last resort, and got himself blasted by him in the process. His body was taken back to Alia afterwards."

Axl looked at him then at Gate. "But who resurrect him?" Axl asked, and Zero shrugs. But they all suddenly jumped when they heard Rouge and Storm Eagle yelped in pain.

"Oh no!" Sora and Gate shouted in unison and then they look at each other.

"Hold on a sec." Axl said. "You're telling me that you're Storm Eagle's NetOp?"

"Yes, I am Storm's partner and NetOp." Gate said.

"You're what?!" Both Axl and Sora exclaimed. They don't believed this, a reploid owns a Net Navi, and more importantly it's Gate and Storm Eagle. But Sora suddenly realized one thing, since when did Axl become surprise about that, I mean Axl has no idea about Net Navis, PET and so on.

Right…?

Shaking the thought off, Sora and Gate agreed to work together in order to removed the virus factory in the system.

(Inside the network)

"Rouge, Storm, try to find that factory and fast." Sora said.

"Hai/Right." Both Rouge and Storm Eagle said and nodded at the same time. Storm lend Rouge a hand so she can fly along with him, but she didn't accept it.

"Man, I can't believe you forgot this, Sora." Rouge said, as she places her hands on her hips.

"Gomen, gomen, it got off my mind somehow." Sora said, as she took a very small pen from the PET(1) and wrote something on the screen. "Okay, Armor Change! Aero Armor!" Sora said.

Then a bright light surrounded Rouge and then died a moment later, and there Storm looked surprise on Rouge's new looks. Her jumpsuit is grayish-white and the armor is light blue, the shape of her helmet change a bit, gaining larger wings on the side of her helmet. Her boots has a booster on the side and has a pair of wings on her back, and her loincloth is shaped like feathers. And then finally gain a grayish-white miniskirt beneath the loincloth. This is the Aero Armor, it was made when Rouge has a battle with a very fast flying navi. Unlike the Falzer Beast out mode, it doesn't have claws or a gun instead it has a curved blades attached to each of her gauntlet called Aero Blade.

When the transformation is complete, Rouge quickly flew to the air with Storm Eagle tailing behind. "You have an Armor Change system like X?" Storm asked, as he flew beside her.

"Ummm… yeah. I got it from my creator's colleague, but he got killed by a maverick in order to help us escape." Rouge lied and sweatdropped at the same time, she hope that he would take it. Truth is, Rouge got that system from Tadashi Hikari's old lab, and he was hiding it from her and Sora so it won't be stolen. "Damn, if we could only find the factory." Rouge said, as she and Storm Eagle looks around. Then Storm found several holes in one area and there are viruses hopping out of it.

"Rouge, over there." Storm said, pointing at the hole.

"Heh? Hiding the factory under the system? That's old school." Rouge said, as the screen appeared on Rouge's side.

"Now, now, Rouge, don't get carry away like last time." Sora reminded her, and Rouge sweatdropped and nodded at the same time.

"Hai, Sora-kun." Rouge said. "Let's use the Program Advance to get rid of the factory in one sweep." She said at Storm Eagle.

But… "What's Program Advance?" Storm Eagle asked, and Rouge nearly fell off the air. But she suddenly realizes something and nearly slapped herself. 'Oh yeah, Storm here is still very new on Net Battling.' Rouge thought.

(In reality)

"Hey Gate, do you have any battle chips to use?" Sora asked, the same time Rouge told Storm Eagle about the Program Advance.

"Battle Chips?" Gate asked. "What are those?"

And both Sora and Axl anime fall, but Axl quickly regained his composure before anyone notice. "You have got to be kidding me! You mean Storm Eagle has been fighting against the virus only with his basic weapon?!" Sora exclaimed.

"Well, he was a reploid and…" Gate stated out, but Sora sighed out and lends him a Cannon, a High Cannon, an M-Cannon, pairs of Big Bombs and Elec Sword. "Here… Storm need this." Sora said.

"But…" Gate said, but he got cut off by Sora.

"Storm Eagle is now your Net Navi, a partner for life, you need to assist him in battle as an operator." Sora said. "Don't think of him as a disposable item or some sort, you might never know what you will miss in the future." She said, and Gate looked at her then smiled a bit.

'I guess what he said was right… she is different from other humans.' Gate thought. "Okay, tell me how to do the Program Advance." He said.

(In the network)

A moment after Sora explained how Gate will perform the Program Advance, they prepared themselves. 'Okay… I hope you and Storm have enough trust to perform it.' Sora thought, as she took a deep breath. "Sword! Wide Sword! Long Sword! Slot-in!" Sora said, inserting the three chips.

"Cannon! High Cannon! M-Cannon! Slot-in!" Gate said, mimicking the same action Sora did only on different types of chips.

Rouge raises her arm to form the Beta Sword and Storm Eagle successfully managed to form the Zeta Cannon on his arms. They both fired at the hole and deleted the factory in one combined blast, they then flew around the system deleting the other viruses in the area. After that, they both logged out and returned to their PETS.

(In reality)

As Sora and Gate places their PETs on their holster, Zero and Axl went near them to discuss a few things. "Thanks for helping, Gate." Sora said, as Rouge appeared on her shoulder and is back in her default armor.

"Your welcome, Sora." Gate said, as Storm Eagle appeared on Gate's shoulder.

"Anyway, what happened to the both of you?" Zero asked.

"We have no idea." Storm Eagle answered.

"All I remember is, I woke up and saw a cloak person, he gave me the PET where Storm Eagle is in and told me to help you." Gate said, pointing at Sora. "Then he disappeared."

Zero, Axl, Sora and Rouge looked at each other, then at Gate, and huddled up together to discuss things in a private matter. "So… what now?" Axl asked.

"I guess we should bring Gate and Storm Eagle back to the HQ." Rouge suggested, but Zero disagreed on that one at first, saying Gate was a Maverick last time. But Sora countered it and then they both started another argument again… And Axl? He feels a little left out, of course.

"Damn… these things are going nowhere. Former mavericks becoming Net Navis, virus attacking important places, Gate and Storm Eagle are NetOp and Net Navis… Man, if only I have my Net Navi with me." Axl whispered to himself, making sure no one heard him. Unfortunately, the spirit of Dr. Light is not with him… Rouge heard him.

'His net navi?' Rouge thought. '… something is going weird right on Axl…… And me and my NetOp will intend to find out.'

After the argument, X came, of course is surprise seeing Gate and Storm Eagle, and took them back to the base.

(Back at the base)

"Sora-kun, something strange is going on." Rouge said, as she and Sora heads to the Lab. Apparently, Douglas called for X and the others to help him test his new invention, and Sora can't wait to see what it is. And Gate and Storm Eagle were accepted in the HQ… but the whole base kept an eye on them.

"Yeah, Sigma and his lackeys are Net Navis and Gate and Storm Eagle are a NetOp, a clueless one, and a Net Navi… and to add to that, Net Navis don't exist in this world… with a few exceptions, of course." Sora said.

"No, not that, it's about Axl." Rouge said.

"Axl? Why, is something wrong with him?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, he mention about virus-busting a few days ago and now he said about his Net Navi partner." Rouge said

"That's absurd, if he did know anything about Net Navis, he could've helped me delete them." Sora said, as Rouge sat down on her shoulder. "Then again, I think I notice Axl acting surprise on Gate and Storm Eagle once."

"What now?" Rouge asked.

"We still need to keep our profile low, but we have to stick with Axl just in case." Sora said. "We're not sure if Axl knows anything about our home."

"Hai, Sora-kun." Rouge said, as they reach the lab. There they met up with X, Zero and Douglas, but Axl has to attend a training session with Signas today. As Douglas opens the vault, Sora sat on the table quietly and Zero almost didn't heard her came in.

"Very good, Sora, your stealth skill has improved a lot. Still I can hear you." Zero said.

"Huh?" X asked, who didn't heard Sora came in, and nearly yelped when he turns around and saw Sora right in front of him.. "Geez, are you going to reboot me or something?" X asked weakly, as he clutches his chest.

"Nope, but if you want to go on a blaming spree, blame it on Zero. He's the one who taught me on stealth anyway." Sora said, grinning as Zero gently punches her on the shoulder while chuckling a bit.

"By the way, I heard your Net Navi has an Armor Change system like I have." X said, looking at Rouge.

"Oh that… a scientist, who's Rouge's creator's colleague, gave it to Rouge, a long time ago. But he got killed by a maverick in order to help us escape." Sora explained. "I guess he got to inspiration from you, I mean you can change your armor too with the Armor Change system." As X chuckles.

"Hey guys." Douglas said, as he took out what looks like a surfboard or something. The surfboard is silver and navy blue, and has four wings on the end of it. And if you look closely on the base of the wings, there is a miniature rocket booster on it.

"Ummm… Douglas, is that a hover board or something?" X asked.

"Yeah, but it's called Gear." Douglas said.

"Cool! A hover board, can I try it?" Sora asked. And Douglas chuckles a bit.

"Sorry can't, it haven't been tested yet." Douglas said.

"Then why did you called us?" Sora asked, crossing her arm.

"To test it but not on you, Sora. It's either X or Zero who'll test it for me and also just in case the rider fell off the Gear, one of us can catch him." Douglas explained, as he checks the wirings in the Gear.

"Riiight…" Sora said, as she pouts a lot. Then Douglas gave the Gear to Zero and tested it, unfortunately for Zero he does not have much balance and kept falling a lot. Luckily for him, he's a reploid and doesn't need any help at all which made Sora sulked more.

As X decided to test it himself, Sora began tinkering an equipment out of boredom and activates it by accident. "Huh?" Sora said, and yelped as an experimental new Chaser came to life and zips off the lab. And X and the two saw it and then looked at Sora.

"Okay… what was that?" Zero asked, as X fell off the Gear and landed on his butt from the distraction.

"AH! It's the Chaser I invented!" Douglas shouts. "The chaser has a guidance system, so the vehicle will know where it will go and not to crash on something. Also, if you type in the right code, the chaser will become an armor for you." He explained

"… Basically, you just gave that thing a very low-graded A.I. system?" Sora asked, and Douglas nodded. By that, X, Sora and Zero decided to help him and ran off to catch the experimental Chaser, but it wasn't easy for the Chaser is very, very fast. Once X and Zero tried jumping on it, but the Chaser shook them off the seat and race down the corridor. Then Sora in her CF form and Zero puts up a barricade to block the Chaser, but it seems the Chaser has its own gun and blasted the barricade off into pieces. Then they tried to hit its engine with their weapons, but it activated its shield and nearly ram into them.

"Man, this is hard…" Zero whined. "Let's just destroy it."

"We can't, we promise Douglas to get it back." CF Rouge said, as she fell on her butt and tries to regain her energy.

"Still there will be a lot of reploids that'll be run over by that crazy machine." Zero said, as X helped her up. Then she got an idea and told the two to keep tracking the machine down, and then she ran off.

A few moments later, X and Zero manage to get on the Chaser but only to be shaken off its seat. Then they heard something, like something zipping into the air… and then out came CF Rouge on the Gear. As if the Chaser has it's own eyes, it got angry on the new machine.

"Tell you what… let's race! First one to get out of this place wins!" CF Rouge shouts, and the Chaser made beeping noise saying that he agreed. The she looked at X and Zero and told them to warn the other hunters and to clear the way. Even though it's dangerous, X and Zero agreed and ran ahead to warn the others.

Meanwhile… Axl sighs as he walks out of the training facility. "Man, I think I miss how Laika taught us discipline right now." Axl whined. Then he looked at the side and suddenly yelped and hits the wall, as the Chaser and hover board with CF Rouge on it passed by. "What the hell?!" Axl said, then X and Zero came.

"Damn, they're too fast." Zero said, panting a lot as X leans on the wall for support.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?!" Axl asked frantically. "And what's with Sora and that Chaser?"

X took a breath and explained what is going on, and then Axl quickly ran off to find his sister. Meanwhile, both CF Rouge and the Chaser are zipping thru the hallway as they saw the exit. And they are about to reach it! Side by side, CF Rouge and the Chaser raced to the exit!

Then the Chaser pulls out it's gun and began shooting CF Rouge off it's Gear. "Hey! That's not fair!" CF Rouge yelped, as she ducks an oncoming plasma shot. Then she suddenly notice that the shot have somewhat hit the side of the helmet, and destroys a part of the wing.

"Hey! No one does that to my favorite helmet!" Rouge snapped.

"Oi… you only have that helmet." CF Rouge said, sweatdropping a bit.

"Still!" Rouge said, as CF Rouge ducks another plasma shot.

"…Well… should we return fire?" CF Rouge asked.

"Of course!" Rouge agreed, as CF Rouge sighed. She summon her R-Buster and carefully took aim, as she scan for a weak spot, she notices a plasma shot on it's side and the Chaser is deactivated. The vehicle hits the wall, creating a small dent on both the wall and its plating, and stops. "Huh?" CF Rouge said, as she steered the Gear around and Axl came with his guns.

"Sora! Are you okay?" Axl asked worriedly, as CF Rouge hops off the Gear.

"Yeah… don't worry, okay." CF Rouge said, as Axl sighs in relief. But CF Rouge looked at him strangely, and she and her Net Navi began talking. "This is getting too weird." CF Rouge whispered lowly.

"Yeah… Axl is worried? And I thought X is more of the worry wart than him." Rouge said, as CF Rouge giggles a bit. True, X is the more worry wart and the more pacifist than anyone else in the base, and then Axl suddenly became one… except for the pacifist thing, he still like blowing the mavericks' heads off.

Then X and Zero came and congrats her for stopping the Chaser, but… "It wasn't me, Axl did. He manages to shoot off something from the Chaser." CF Rouge said, as she defuse from her Net Navi. Axl sheepishly grins as X congratulates him on helping Sora, they then took the Chaser back to the lab while Sora steered the Gear to the lab too.

At the lab, Douglas thanked the four of them on capturing the experimental Chaser, and suddenly notices that Sora is doing several skateboarding tricks on the Gear. Then he began thinking and calls Sora down, and she did and hops down the Gear.

"Sora, didn't we told you that Gear is still a prototype?" X said, and Sora merely rolled her eyes back.

'After all the time we been through, he still treats me as a fragile thing?! Oh someone has to get there point of view change a bit.' Sora thought.

"It's okay, X." Douglas said, and turns back to Sora. "Amazing, how can you control it?"

"It's easy to ride on it once you practice on a skateboard, a snowboard or a surf board." Sora said, as she carries the Gear like she usually does on her skateboard. "And trust me, practice on one of them, you'll control this Gear in a breeze."

"I see… since you have experience riding on a board, you have balance and can easy control it." Douglas said.

"I see…" Douglas said in interest. "Mind riding on it again?" he asked.

"Okay." Sora said as she dropped the Gear, which easy float before it hits the floor. She then hops on it and began riding around the lab, she then did a few skateboarding trick on it. Of course, X and Axl kept shouting on her to be careful but she ignores it and grabs their helmets as a prank. Zero laugh at this and Sora landed beside him, he told her that she must keep the Gear for she is the only one who knows how to ride it properly. And Douglas, somehow, agreed to that and X and Axl are baffled. And Sora is grinning in victory, as she does a couple of loop-to-loops on the Gear and Douglas is amaze that Sora can keep up with the reploids despite the fact that she is human.

He guessed that the natural nanobots in her body are making her quite like a super human, but they'll never know who exactly Sora is.

(Later that night)

Axl is observing the stars on the rooftop and sighs, he really miss his other family and friends. Still he is happy to meet his sister up and personal, but he is afraid that she might think of him like he's crazy if he said that he was once Netto Hikari, her long-lost brother.

As he looks at the stars, he began to remember how Dark Blues sent him to this world.

(Flashback)

As he tries to absorb the darkness that has clouded Blues' soul, Dark Blues manages to get rid of the trap and uses an unknown attack on CF Rockman and cuts his left arm off in the process. He screams in pain and clutches what is left of his left arm, and then landed clumsily on the ground.

"Netto-kun! Are you okay?!" Rockman asked frantically.

"Yeah, a bit." CF Rockman said.

"A BIT?! He cut your arm off!!!" Rockman snapped. "Come on, we better get out of here and check that arm."

"But what about Blues?" CF Rockman stated out weakly.

"Me?" Dark Blues asked, as he suddenly appeared in front of him. CF Rockman's eyes widens as Dark Blues punches him right on the icon of his chest, causing him to defuse from his Net Navi. As Netto's PET slid to a corner, Netto landed on the floor, writhing in pain from his left side.

"Netto-kun! Netto-kun!" Rockman shouts, as Netto tries to stand and reach his PET but Dark Blues roughly stomp him on the back, hard.

"Hn, you're going to pay on what you did you brat." Dark Blues spats, and stomps on him again. Causing Netto to cough out blood and began to spill out tears, while Rockman shouts at his brother to hang on.

"Netto-kun! Netto-kun!" Rockman shouts, and then he heard the antagonizing scream from his brother as Dark Blues cuts one of his legs off. "NETTO-KUN! GET OFF HIM, YOU JERK!" Rockman shouts, as Dark Blues laughed like crazy and cuts Netto's other leg off.

"Or what?" Dark Blues sneered, as he got off Netto and looks at Rockman from his PET. Rockman cursed himself for being stuck in the PET and tries to distract Dark Blues from his twin. But it didn't work, as Dark Blues decided to use his new attack. As he positioned himself, he looks at Rockman and grins evilly.

"Say good-bye to your NetOp, Rockman." He said, as he unleashed his attack again. "Hell Bringer!" he shouts, as he slashed the air and black-red swirling vortex formed right above Netto. Black tentacles wrapped around lovingly on Netto's body, for he has no strength left to fight against it and his eyes are almost dead. As it lifted him into the vortex, he took one last look to his Net Navi and twin brother.

"… Sa… Sayo… Nara…. Saito-san." Netto said, as more tears leak out and he is absorbed by the vortex.

(End of flashback)

Axl shudders at the memory and hugs himself, as tears began to leak out. He thought that he was going to die by Dark Blues' new attack, but he didn't…. I mean he did die, but he was reborn as a reploid, became a Maverick Hunter and became X and Zero's new friend.

As he tries to calm himself down, someone came and he heard two girls are bickering a lot.

"I told you to shut it." Sora hissed, as Rouge crosses her arm and said 'hmph!', as they look around and saw Axl.

"Hey… are you two fighting?" Axl asked, as he quickly swipe off his tears.

"Yeah, there are some times Rouge and I can't get along." Sora said, somewhat cheerfully and sarcastically. "Still, she is my partner." She added, as Rouge grinned at her.

Axl smiled gently at the scene and nearly cried… he really misses Rockman and the others, as he manage to cool himself down, they saw three shooting stars flying through the sky.

"Sugoi… I wish my friends are here to see that, especially my boyfriend." Sora said, looking at the stars and Axl looked at her weirdly.

"Boyfriend?" Axl asked out in curiosity.

"Yeah… What about you, Axl? Do you have a girlfriend?" Sora asked.

"No." Axl said quickly, blushing a bit. Truth is, he liked someone and that is Pallette… still he cannot help wondering what happened to Meiru. He used to like her, now… he no longer feels that way anymore. By that he changed the subject… "Anyway, who's your boyfriend?" Axl asked.

"Ijuin Enzan." Sora stated out, and Axl is bugged out and nearly fell off over the railings.

"You're dating that white-black mutant hair freak?!" Axl asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong-" Sora stopped when she realized what he said, and Axl covered his mouth. "What did you say?" she asked.

"Uhh… nothing." Axl said sheepishly, as he slowly back away from her.

"Don't lie to me, how do you know how my boyfriend looked like?" Sora asked, in a stern voice and Axl is confused. This could be his chance to confess to his sister that he is Netto, but at the same time he wanted to run and hide from her, for he is afraid that he might get rejected. He slowly opened his mouth to say something, when the maverick alarm went off.

"Another attack? I better go, Sora, see'ya!" Axl shouts, and quickly ran off to the command center, leaving Sora behind while cursing himself for being a coward and not telling the truth to his sister.

Sora and Rouge, on the other hand, stood there for a moment looking that the door where Axl left. And Rouge confirms one thing… Axl knows something about their home world. But for Sora, she felt concern and worried for New Generation Reploid, and the same feeling that she felt when she and Axl met in the Ulfat Factory came back.

'Axl… who are you exactly…' Sora thought, as she looked back at the stars before walking back to her room. And a cloaked figure smiled before disappearing into the night

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Hikari: Yay! It is done! And if you still don't get it why I change chapter 13, here's the spoiler: If Zero has Zero.exe as his counterpart… what about X? Well that's all for now, Read and review!


	16. Axl is Netto, Netto is Axl

Connected Hearts – Axl is Netto, Netto is Axl

Hikari: Hi! It's summer vacation here in the Philippines and we're totally gonna rock till college begins again! And here's the chapter which you all been waiting for! Axl's confession!

Train: … Um… Where are we? "Popping out of nowhere."

Hikari: Squeeee!!!! It's Train from Black Cat! "tries to hug Train, but only to be avoided." Owie…

Train: And who the hell are you?

Hikari: I'm Hikari Phoenix, authoress and guardian of the bit beasts, you mind. And welcome to my place. "grabbing Train successfully"

Creed: Let go of my Train, you witch! "Appearing out of nowhere."

Hikari: Whoa! It's Creed! "Then someone drop right above him."... Errr… "looking up" Nice aim, Zero!

Zero: "smiled as he watched Vile and Creed squirm in pain." I never miss anything when it comes on dropping a prank. "grinning a lot"

Hikari: Where's Axl?

Zero: Pranking X. "Then suddenly heard someone screaming and Axl came running in with X chasing his tail."

Hikari: … Right, well on with the fic! Now… where's Eve…

Train: Okay… This is weird… "Being drag by Hikari."

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Rockman.exe or MMX, if I do I would the one who invented Megaman! XD!)

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

Axl is Netto, Netto is Axl

A few days after Axl's accidental outburst and hiding in his room, he decided to avoid his sister till he is ready to confess who he really is.

Meanwhile, Sora and Rouge are trying to fess Axl up in hopes to find their way home, but there's a problem… they can't find Axl anywhere, heck not even in their mission with X or Zero. And even the two legendary hunters are getting worried about him too.

And so the game of hide and seek begins…

(Day 1)

After being stuck in his own room, Axl decided to get something to eat from the cafeteria… even though he's a reploid and can recharge in his pod, he still misses the taste of food especially his favourite, curry.

As he took a tray and ordered his favourite food, he spotted his friends, X and Zero, on one table near the corner. He then headed to that table and sat beside Zero, who is bored…

"Hey Z, boring day?" Axl asked, startling the red hunter.

"Geez, don't do that." Zero said, as X, who is reading a book, ignored whatever he's reading and looks at Axl.

"Axl, you beginning to act strangely…" X said it out straight forward, but…

"Uhhh? Mind repeating that again?" Axl asked, with his mouth full of curry and X sweatdropped by his actions.

"As I was saying… you're acting really weirdly for the past few days and we're getting worried about you." X said, as Zero poked his food with a fork. Axl lied that it was something that Red taught him to do, so he can get them off his back. As he is about to reach for his drink, he nearly fell off his seat on what he saw… his sister, Sora.

He is not ready to tell her who he really is, and he has a 50-50 chance of escaping this situation and there is only one option… FOOD FIGHT!!!

One moment, the cafeteria is sparkly clean, then all of the sudden the reploids began throwing their foods around. Sora quickly left the place, and not long Axl came out from it covered in pizza, whip cream, spaghetti, etc. But X and Zero were left behind to try to stop the messy war that's happening before Signas would come for the daily inspection.

And Axl's first plan on avoiding his sister is a success.

(Day 2)

"I wonder where Axl is…" Sora said, as she walks to Zero's office, carrying some paper. "I really want to know if he knows anything about our home." She said, as Rouge slightly shrugs.

"… Still, we need to be careful… He might kill you with his strength; he's a reploid after all." Rouge warned her partner, who just shrugged. As the two walked, a reploid passed by then suddenly ran off.

"… Weird." Sora said, scratching her head a bit and continues to walk.

Meanwhile, the reploid stops behind a corner and clutches his chest as he began to glow and transform into his normal self.

It's Axl!

And he began to bang his head on the wall. 'Why didn't I thought about my Copy Ability before!' he thought angry at himself, as he continue to hit his head on the wall again. Then he stops and looks behind him, and there he notice the other passer by and they began to wonder if he's okay or going maverick or just plain crazy.

"Ehe… It's nothing." He said, and ran off.

(Day 3)

Today is another maverick attack, as the usual, and Axl can't get out of this situation… or can he?

A few moments later…

"Dang it, where the hell is Axl?" Zero said, as he, X and CF Rouge waited near the teleportation pad, and he is getting impatient. So he grabs the two and headed to the battle without the young reploid.

"Can't we wait for Axl, sempai?" CF Rouge asked.

"Nope, we wait a little longer, more disaster might come." Zero said, as he hops on the pad and the three were teleported away to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, a bat-type mechaniloid, that watches the scene between CF rouge, X and Zero, suddenly glowed and turns into a reploid before running off to hide.

Another plan of Axl is successful… for now…

(Day 4)

Today is Axl's lucky day, because he is sent on an undercover mission by himself, and Signas reassure X and Zero that the young reploid can pull it off. He owed the general big time.

(Meanwhile, at the lab)

Gate and Douglas are experimenting on something and called Sora and Rouge for aid, and they hope that they can pull it off.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Sora asked, entering the lab with X and Zero behind her. The two hunters are still not sure that Gate can be trusted and all, so they decided to come along too.

"Well…" Gate said.

"Can we borrow your Synchro Chip?" Douglas asked.

"Why?" Zero asked, looking at the two strangely.

"Well, we decided to try the Cross fusion thing to find out how it's strength." Gate explained. "Look, I know you can't trust me but I'm doing this so this war can be over."

"But only Sora can do that, and we don't know if all of us can pull it off." X said, trying to persuade Gate to abort the idea of cross fusing. But the two were not successful and Gate asked Sora for her Synchro Chip. She has a strange feeling about it, not to mention a reploid cross fusing with a net navi is dangerous in her thoughts. After all, a reploid soul is made of data.

"Are you sure about this?" Sora asked, still not sure if they can perform a successful cross fusion, not after these two tries some experiments on her when she is in her CF form and nearly got diffuse by it.

"Of course." Gate said, as she handed one of the Synchro Chip (Note: Remember chapter 10, she has 2 Synchro chips ever since Barrel left.).

As Gate took his PET, he asked Sora a few things about the cross fusion and then enters the testing room for safety. As the four watches Gate prepares for the cross fusion, he looks at his partner, Storm Eagle, and nodded. "Synchro Chip! Slot-in!" Gate said, inserting the Synchro Chip. A flash of light surrounded him, causing for X and the others to cover their eyes from it.

After the light disappeared, there stood Gate in his CF Storm Eagle form. His jumpsuit is black and yellow, he has an armor similar to the design on Storm Eagle, has wings on his back and his helmet is the shape of an eagle's head with the beak-like shade over his eyes. He successfully performs the Cross fusion… but…

"Hey, he did it." X said, looking at Sora, then Zero suddenly yelped and ducked at an oncoming shot from CF Storm Eagle. "What the-!?" he yelped, and then drag Sora down to evade the shot.

CF Storm Eagle has gone maverick! He cannot control himself as he destroys the whole testing room and flew into the lab.

"We better stop him!" Douglas shouts, then a flash of light appeared behind them and they turned to see Sora in her CF form.

"Let me handle this!" CF Rouge said, and ran to the berserk reploid. CF Storm saw her and attacks her with his Wing Blades, which Sora gave to give him a few day ago so he can have two weapons like Rouge does. Wing Blades is a pair of feather-shape daggers and if you attach it together it can be turn into a boomerang, Sora thought this up when she was watching a very strange version of the Power Ranger series of this world.

(Note: And I also do not own Power Rangers, kapeesh?)

As she evaded the daggers, she carefully aims for the chest and then uses MegaGuts Punch on him. By that, he was defused and is reverted back to normal, she then catches the Gate's PET and looks at them if they are okay.

"Nice going, Sora." Zero said, walking towards her with a saber in his hand. But she signals him to stop and defused from her partner.

"It's okay, Gate will be just fine… although, I'll have to fix his programmings." Sora said, as she places her PET on her armlet.

"Same thing goes for Stormy here." Rouge said, appearing on Sora's shoulder and is looking at Gate's PET where Storm Eagle is knock out on the network floor.

"But… what just happened?" Douglas asked.

"I might have an answer to that." Sora said, as she asked Zero and X to help Gate to the infirmary.

(At the infirmary, moment later…)

Gate woke up with a feeling that he was crush by ten thousand, huge metal-filled truck on him… well... you can't say that he got run over by a herd of elephants, y'know, he's a reploid!

"What happened?" Gate asked groggily as he sat up.

"You've been whipped, that's what." Zero said, leaning from his chair along with the others who are worried about him since the CF incident. "Just kidding, you should thank Sora for saving you." He said, pointing at her.

"… Whatever, Zero-sempai." Sora said, standing up and rubbed her forehead a bit.

"You should really stop staring at the computer for too long, Sora-kun." Rouge said, and is worried about her ever since Sora work non-stop fixing the programming of both Gate and Storm Eagle.

"I agree with Rouge here, you should stop it otherwise you'll end up wearing glasses." X said.

"Looks who's talking? You're wearing glasses also when you're working" Sora answered back.

"Hey, those are reading glasses." X said defensively.

"And you're a reploid, why in the name of science would a reploid like you need a glasses, anyway?" Sora asked, and suddenly thought of it and grins. "Is it… to impress her?" she teased.

"Uh…? Who?" X asked in surprise, and tries to look a bit innocent but the blush gave it all away.

"I meant A-L-I-A." she said teasingly, and smirks as she saw X's face went red and steamed a little somehow. And Douglas snickered a lot while Zero is smirking at his friend's expression.

"Ha, ha… well, enough teasing, Sora." X said sarcastically, and then turns to face Gate. "Are you okay, Gate?" X asked the purpled reploid scientist, as his face stops turning red and Gate tries to remember what was going on. When he realizes it, looks around for his PET and Sora handed it to him.

"Don't worry, Stormy's okay, he just needed a lot of rest." Rouge said, as she lean back and relaxes on Sora's neck. "And I think you reploids shouldn't perform the Cross Fusion, it's too dangerous." She added.

"What? But we're about-" but Gate got cut off by Sora.

"Rouge is right, Gate. There is no way I'm allowing you to experiment on Cross Fusion." Sora said, crossing her arms.

"But for the record, mind explaining why we can't perform what you do?" Zero asked, looking at the human Maverick Hunter.

"It's simple really, since reploids' souls are made of programs and all, combining with a net navi would result turning into a maverick." Sora said.

"Why is that?" Douglas asked.

"Reploids and Net Navis have different programmings and if you crash those two together…… well, think, an unknown program entered your body and your original program releases firewalls and anti-virus programs to protect you. Like white blood cells in a human body, that is release in order to eliminate bacteria and viruses. But in order for Cross Fusion to work, both programs must combine and work together. But since both programs don't know each other, they'll fight against one another till one of the programs won and take over the system." Sora explained.

"Whoa… so in short, we're not allowed to perform Cross Fusion?" Douglas asked.

"I'm afraid so." Sora said.

"And I might agree to that… it's a hard job trying to find whose program who that are both in your bodies." Rouge said, crossing her arm at them scowling a bit. It is pretty obvious that she is not happy since she tried to stop a feud between Gate's programming and Storm Eagle's programming, in their reploid/net navi body. **"It's very hurtful, y'know" **she said.

"Well… now that we know a bit something about Cross Fusion, I guess we'll leave it to the humans." Gate said. "And come to think of it, how come you can Cross Fuse with your navi?"

"Well… human bodies are different from data, I guess, so that must be the reason why I can Cross Fuse with Rouge." Sora lied… she don't want to tell the event happened three years ago when Cache attempt turning her and the entire population of the world into data. "And besides, I'm not used in Cross Fusion when I first used it for the first time; it almost took all my strength." She added.

"So how long have you been using it?" X asked.

"Before I met you all? … I'll say, 3 or 4 months." Sora lied.

After they discussed the Cross Fusion clearly to them, Sora and Rouge left to meet up with Nana and Cinnamon to help on the computers. And Sora is hoping that she will have luck finding Axl tomorrow.

(Day 5)

Another day, another maverick attack. As Zero and Axl helps each other out on the situation, CF Rouge suddenly came flying in on her Gear along with X on her back, who is shooting at the mavericks within range.

"Man, I wish have a Gear." Axl whined, as he shot back at a maverick.

After rescuing the civilians who were held hostage, all of them thanked the hunters especially Sora. Then they all head home, but Axl keeps himself a good distant away from his sister and swear that he'll kill Signas butt someday.

("Flashback")

As Axl tries to avoid the mission, he suddenly found himself lost… I mean, sure he's an S-Class Hunter with unlimited pass on every facility, but there are also some facility that he was forbid to go in. As he tries to find out about the place, Signas suddenly appeared and asked him on what he's doing.

"I am lost, sir." Axl said truthfully… well… only half the truth, after all, he is hiding from his sister.

After being told by Signas himself, the alarm went off and Axl can do nothing but to follow Signas' orders. And so he ran off met up with X, Zero and CF Rouge, and then quickly hops on the teleportation pad before CF Rouge says anything.

("End of Flashback")

Axl sighs and tries to think of a possible ways to avoid his sister when…

"Hey Axl." CF Rouge said, making Axl slightly jump a few feet. "Are you okay?" she asked, as she defuse from her partner.

"Ye-yeah… um… listen, I better go now… I got… training sessions with Signas today." He lied, as he slowly backs away. "Bye!" and then ran off.

"Axl, wait! I wanted to ask you about…" Sora shouts and then sighs.

"He's gone." Rouge said, appearing on her shoulder sighing also.

"Man… why is he avoiding me?" Sora asked, as she head to X's office to make the report. While walking, she met up with Marino and Massimo on the way.

"Hey Sora, how are you?" Massimo asked.

"Fine, I feel slightly sore from the mission though." Sora said, as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well, you are human." Marino said, placing her hand on her hip.

"A human with nanobots in her body." Rouge corrected, and they all laugh a bit.

"Hey do you have a spare time? I would want to see how strong you become for the past 3 months." Marino asked.

"Sure, I have." Sora said, as she went along with them.

"Hey! What about the report?!" Rouge said.

"Screw paperwork." Sora said back, as she took out her Synchro Chip and transform into her CF form. A few hours later, Sora bid goodbye to Marino and Massimo and quickly heads to the office. As she reaches the office, she suddenly bumps into someone and fell on her butt.

"Ow, ow… sorry." Sora winced, as she saw who she bumped into… X. "Eeeeiiiii!!!" She yelped.

"Sora, where have you been?" X asked, as he helped Sora up and looks at her like what a stern older brother looks at his irresponsible little sister. As Sora explained what she did, X sighs, and direct Sora on doing her report in his office since she doesn't have one on her own. So she walk into the office and began to type her report, and as time pass, she only made a page of the report. She supposed to type a three pages report, but even though she once lived in America, she never liked paperwork. She's well-organize, yes, but doing reports and so on, is a no-no.

"Argh… I hate paperwork." Sora muttered, as she tries thinking a paragraph for the third page.

"I knew I should've told you to pay attention in English class." Rouge said, sighing and shrugging her shoulder a bit.

"Shut up, Rouge." Sora said, as she played with the pen she's holding. Then X came and noticed that Sora is not finished that the report.

"You're still not finish?" X asked, arching his eyebrow.

"Yeah…… I never like paperwork anyway." Sora said, as she tries to think of something to write on the paper.

"That's because you never pay attention in English class." Rouge said, and then she suddenly said 'eep' and hid back into her PET when she saw Sora glared at her.

"By the way, I heard you're the first reploid." Sora said, changing the subject. "How old are you?" she asked.

"Well… I'm going to be 20 next week." X said.

"Really? Well, advance Happy Birthday…. Or activation day? Whatever!" Sora said, as she scratches her head and X laugh a bit.

"Well, thank you, Sora." X said, as she smiled goofily to remove her mind from the work for a while.

"So… who built you? I bet it's a really, old, yet genius inventor." Sora said, with sparkle in her eyes like every kid would do when they want to find out what is it. After all, she is very fond on machinery especially robotics. X laughed at her antics and sat down near her table.

"Well, you guess it right… his name is Thomas X. Light." X said.

"Light? Hey, if you translate it into Japanese, it means Hikari." Rouge said, who pops out of the PET and sat down on Sora's shoulder and is listening on their conversation.

"You're right, Hikari means Light… okay, freaky, yet cool, but more freaky." Sora said, looking at her net navi, then she began thinking, then she shook her head a bit and X laughed on her actions.

"I know. Your family name is similar to my creator's name but only in Japanese." X said, as Sora looks at X.

"Anyway… do you know what he looks like?" She asked, and X frown at that question. "Oh sorry… I guess you never met him." She said, apologizing.

"No… I did meet him… only in holograms when he's going to give me some upgrades that would help me win against my enemy." X said, as he looks out of the window and sighs.

"Oh…" she said, and looks at the paper she is working at and remembers Netto. She remembers the time when he would appear to help her and aid her in battle, when she and her friend got stuck in a tough situation. Once when Dr. Regal is about to strike at SciLab, and when Duo is about to finish her and her friends and her home. And also, he appears in Beyondard when Rockman was in pain when he absorbs some of Trill's data, but she refused his help and wanted to prove that she can solve the problem on her own once. Then when Zero One attacked, Netto came and again she refuses his help causing Zero's deletion. And lastly, on the battle against Cache, Netto asked Rockman and Sora to Cross Fuse together in order to stop Cache. Of course, Rockman is against it but when Netto said that Rockman is a useless navi and an idiot brother, that when he agreed to Cross Fuse with Sora once and only once. And she strangely remembered something else too.

'Those three soul unisons Netto gave me a few years ago, when Cache was suddenly revived by that strange beam.' She thought and realizes something. 'Hold on! Those three are called X Soul, Zero Soul, and Axl Soul! But how did he...' she thought.

"So… are you finished?" X asked, snapping Sora out of her thoughts.

"Oh shoot!" Sora yelped, as she tries to finish the report and both X and Rouge sighs.

(After a few minutes later…)

As Sora passed the report, she decided to go to the roof to get a few tension relieved. As she walks thru the halls, she suddenly heard a loud battle cry coming from the training facility.

"Hey, is that Zero?" Rouge asked, after hearing another battle cry. "Yup, that's him all right." She added.

"Hey, why don't we have a sparing match with him?" Sora asked, and ran into the facility with Rouge wailing not to challenge the red hunter. When they found where Zero's training in, they notice something strange.

"Is Zero okay? He looks distracted." Sora said to her partner, as she watched Zero taking some damage while he tries to defeat the 'enemies'.

"I guess so, looks at the current status in the console." Rouge said and Sora nodded, when they looked at it, they are surprised of the current results. "24 minutes? There's definitely wrong with Zero." Sora said.

Thinking that Zero needs someone to talk with his problems, she transforms in her Cross Fusion form and pressed the reset button.

As Zero is about to slice the holographic maverick in half, it suddenly disappeared out of sight. "Hey! Who-?" Zero said in surprise and frustration, then the doors opened and CF Rouge steps in.

"Hey, you don't mind if I join in, would ya?" CF Rouge asked and stood beside Zero. "Training start!" she shouts at the computer. Then the whole room activated its hologram system and changes the surrounding into a ruin battle ground. Several mavericks appeared pointing their weapons at them, and CF Rouge prepares herself with her Rouge's Chain set. She waited them to strike first, but Zero suddenly attacks then like a rage barbarian and left CF Rouge defending herself.

"Whoa! Zero, wait!" CF Rouge yelped, as she threw her chain at the mavericks, beheading them. A few moments later, CF Rouge decided to finish the training to talk some sense into Zero.

"Fire Tsunami! Barrier! Slot-in!" CF Rouge said, she summons a flaming huge wave and then she grabs Zero and activates the barrier. A few moments later, the tsunami is gone and the training session is finished in 15 minutes. "Dang, why didn't I thought of using this chip when Zero dared me to do this training at the first place?" CF Rouge sweared to herself.

"That's because you're always forgetful, Sora-kun" Rouge said.

"I do not!" CF Rouge answered back.

But all of the sudden… "Training start!" Zero shouts, and the whole event begun again with CF Rouge yelping as she dodged the mavericks' attack. Well… she also got hit a few times but not too serious, and then she uses a few Program Advance to get the training over with. But things still went complicated… after the fifth training session…

"Training-" Zero got cut off when CF Rouge jump-kicks him on the head.

"Knock it off!!!" Both CF Rouge and Rouge shouts, as Zero hits the wall creating a body crater.

"Phew…" CF Rouge said, as Zero fell on the floor. "That is a close one."

"Yeah… one more and we're both dead… well, not literally." Rouge said.

Then CF Rouge carried Zero out of the training room, and slowly places him on a chair and then check on him for any injuries.

"Zero, you baka, you know I have unbelievable strength, thanks to my nanobots and the Cross Fusion thing, but I'm still a human." CF Rouge said, as she defuse and catches her PET.

"…… Sorry." Zero said, looking at the floor. Sora sighs and looks at Zero with concern in her eyes.

"Hey is something bothering you?" Sora asked. "You seemed pretty off today."

"It's nothing, Sora." Zero said, hoping that she would leave him but Sora sighs.

"Zero, you have a problem… and I think you need someone to talk about it." Sora said, kneeling to see Zero straight at the face but he turns away.

"Like you can understand." Zero said.

"Oh, I can since I'm different from ya." Sora said. "… Oh come on, let me help you." She added, then Zero tries to think of a reason so he can escape but… "Let me guess, you lost someone who's dear and important to you." Sora said.

And Zero froze on the spot.

"Am I right?" Sora asked, he looks at her and sighs, it seems that he might not get out of this one for once.

"Yeah… I lost someone." Zero said.

"Can we talk about it?" Sora asked, and he slowly nodded. So she took another chair and sat in front of Zero.

"… Her name is Iris." Zero said, and Sora and Rouge nearly flinch off the chair. That's because she knew another girl named Iris, and she living in Beyondard with Beyondard Barrel and his net navi.

"Oookay." Sora said, pretending that she did not react, or something.

"She's a friend and works in another military force called Repliforce." Zero said.

"Sounds like, you two are more than 'friends'." Sora teased, and Zero went slightly pink.

"Shut up!" Zero snapped, and Sora and Rouge cringed. "… Sorry… Iris, her brother Colonel." And again, the NetOp and Net navi nearly flinch off the chair. "X and I were once working together until General declares independence for reploids against humans."

"So… you and X have no choice but to fight against them, because the Maverick Hunters declares them as mavericks." Rouge said.

"Yes…" Zero said, with a bit of sadness in his voice.

"How did you know that, Rouge?" Sora asked.

"I took a walk in the network." Rouge said, grinning. "Continue Z."

"Right… and the two of us followed an order to stop the Repliforce at any cost." Zero said. "I killed Colonel… Then Iris decided to avenge her brother and in the final duel…"

Zero trembled as his hand turns into fist on his lap, and this time he couldn't stop himself. "I…I… I killed her in order to stop that satellite from shooting earth! I don't want to hurt her, but I don't want to let her destroy Earth.(1)" Zero said shakily.

He wanted to cry but he knew he can't since he's a reploid, and reploids can't cry with the exception of X. "Zero…" Sora said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Unknowingly, the symbol glowed slightly on Sora's forehead and this time along with another symbol on her heart, thus making her hand glow then vanished in a few second. Then a tiny splash is heard, Zero opens his eyes and saw spots of water on his lap. Then he felt something wet on his cheeks, he looks at the blank computer screen and gasps in surprise.

He's crying… Wet streaks of coolant are slowly pouring out of his eyes.

"It's okay to cry, Zero." Sora said.

"How…?" Zero mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Rouge asked when he stood up with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Rouge… reploids can't cry except for X." Zero stated out.

"But even though all of you are machines, you all have hearts and souls. And I think your heart is crying for a long time, and also… I think your soul wanted to show it… to show that you are no different than us humans." Sora said, smiling a bit.

Zero looked at her, quite stunned, and then Sora stood up and looks at the dark training room. "You know, I also lost someone important to me…" Sora said, and Zero looked at her. "My brother, Netto… I only met him once but I felt that we met much longer than that."

"I see…" Zero said.

"But I feel something strange... I feel like Netto is still alive, somewhere out there…" Sora said absentmindedly, and then she frowns and sighs in defeat. Then she notice Zero and then she smiled and waved her hands at him. "Ehehe! Don't mind me!" Sora said cheerfully, sticking out her tongue but Zero knows that she's faking it.

"Well, I better go and catch a bit of fresh air. See'ya!" Sora said, and heads to the door. But before she ran out of it… "Zero, I think Iris forgiven you… well… let's say it's a feeling I got. After all, maybe she doesn't want to hurt anyone either." Sora said.

"But if she did-" But Zero got cut off by Sora.

"Whoop! Let me finish first! Besides that, maybe she chose to end her life…" Sora said. "She probably thought that she'll be a threat somewhere in the future because she attempted to destroy Earth once."

"But we could protect her." Zero said.

"True, but she still think that she'll be infected by the Sigma virus, or be manipulated somewhat in the future… and besides, she is probably thankful for you for setting her free." Sora said, smiling a bit stepping out of the door. "And remember this: one door closes, another door opens."

She then left to the rooftop while Zero smiled, despite the fact that she's a human, she understands how reploid feels. And so without the feeling of guilt in his heart, Zero exited the training facility and heads to his room for a good night sleep.

(At rooftop)

As Axl looks at the stars, he sighs.

"I guess there is no way I can tell my sister about the truth…" Axl said to himself, frowning as he looks down. "How can she believe a reploid is her long-lost brother? This is ridiculous…" he asked himself, and sighs in defeat. Then he heard someone came, he turns around and nearly rebooted himself.

His. Sister. Is. Right. There. At. The. Rooftop. Door.

"Axl!" Sora said, quite cheerfully and went to him. "Hey, you look kinda pale." She stated out, when she notice that Axl is pale as a white blanket

"It-it-it's n-nothing." Axl stuttered.

"And stuttering is nothing?" Sora asked. (A/N: Déjà vu? O.o?)

"Sorry." Axl said, relaxing a bit.

"It's okay!" Sora said, slapping Axl at the back and nearly sending him off the railing. "Whoops! I'm sorry, I forgot my own strength." Sora said sheepishly, and helps Axl up.

"Thanks." Axl said, before letting go of her hand.

"Axl… can we talk?" Sora asked, and he froze on spot.

'Oh no… this is it…' Axl thought nervously. "Okay… wait, where's Rouge?" he asked, noticing that the little dark blue Net Navi is missing on her shoulder and something to change the subject a bit.

"Oh… she's sleeping in the PET." Sora said, pointing at her PET on her shoulder.

"Right." Axl said, and silence came again. Both of them never made a sound… and the only thing you can hear is the night wind breezes thru the two. A few moments later, Sora coughs her throat clear, and for some reason, she didn't know why she is nervous on asking him if he knew anything about her world.

"Axl… I wanted to ask you about something… How do you know my boyfriend, Enzan Ijuin? And do you know anything about my home?" Sora asked.

And Axl, still trying to think of the way out, but in the end decided to come out straight. He slowly took a deep breath and tries to relax himself. 'This is it.' He thought. "Enzan… is my eternal rival. I met him in a TV studio when Maharama took over it." He confessed. "Since then, we have sort of a rival-like friendship."

"You Netbattle?" Sora asked, as her curiosity is slowly taking over her.

"Of course… but I stop, after Dark Blues sent me here. I mean, I have no Net Navi and they don't exist here." Axl said.

"Hold on a sec! You know Enzan, you know Dark Blues, and let me guess, you know my friends and my family?" Sora asked.

"Yeah… I feel sorry for Meiru… I guess we couldn't be together." He said, with disappointment in his voice. "By the way, how Dekao, Yaito, and Tohru are doing? And how is Rockman?" he asked, smiling a bit.

"J-just who the hell are you?!" Sora exclaimed, slowly backing away from Axl. And he only smiles with gentleness in it and sighs.

"I'm sorry… I guess I haven't told you who I really am." Axl said, as he walks toward her. "Sora… I'm your lost-long brother, I'm Netto Hikari."

"What?!" Sora said, standing stiffly on her place.

"Sora… I know you may not believe me, but please let me see Rockman… no, Saito again." Axl said, his voice is nearly pleading.

"Axl…" Sora said, looking at him. Then something glowed from their heart and Sora saw what really happened to her… brother.

(Flashback)

As a teenage girl, around the age of 15 or so, is walking back from the grocery when a sudden flash of light came out from the alley. She went there and gasps on what she saw… a wounded boy with both of his legs and left arm are missing. Thinking that she cannot leave him there, she tore up a few pieces of cloth to close the wounds and then she carried him to the professor's lab. By the time she reaches the lab, Netto has loss amount of blood and might not survive. She then begged the professor to help him and agreed, so he places Netto in a capsule and then absorbs his soul, mind, and heart to a reploid…

And that reploid is… Axl.

"I'm sorry, little boy…… But this is the only way to save you…… I hope you'll find a new life in your new body." She said, before Netto dozes off into a deep sleep.

(End of Flashback)

"Oh my… Netto?" Sora asked, as she shook her head from dizziness and looks at the shocked New Generation Reploid.

'So that's what happened to me…' He thought, but he is snapped back by the fact that his sister is starting to cry. "Sora…" He said gently.

"I can't believe… I can't believe that you're still alive!" she said, as she hugs him, afraid that he might disappear again.

"Shhh… Don't worry I'm still here." Axl said, as Sora cried on his shoulders and he tries to calm her down. And unknown to them, a cloaked figure smiled and looks at the red star, which gave a momentary glow on the two siblings.

"Now, she found the most important thing to her… It's time to open the Pathway." The cloaked person said, before disappearing.

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Hikari: OH MY GOD! This is the longest chapter I ever wrote since chapter 10!

Blues: The ending sounds to be a bit sappy.

Hikari: You think?

Blues: Yeah.

Hikari: Well, I tried to finish this on time since I am going to the province for the month and there are no computers whatsoever there!!! Anyway, read and review, and watch out for Cat's Eye, a new fic in MMX crossover series!

1. I'm not sure about the story of Zero in MMX4, so screw me will ya?! And I can't think of anything for Zero and Sora to talk about, okay?!


	17. Crossing Back

Connected Hearts – Crossing back

Hikari: Hi! I'm back and I mistakenly type in the last chapter that I'll be in the province for a month. Truth is, me and my family are only staying there for two weeks… My bad --U

Sora: Right… and for the reviewers:

Yami Amy Lau: Some people are dense, okay? Like in one of the episodes before Axess, Netto is very dense to see that Poipu is actually Princess Pride... Heck, he even went to Creamland with his friends and only they saw who really Poipu is until the end of the episode. And another thing, is it possible to a human to have a reploid for a sibling?

jhvh777: Yep! They are siblings again!

Hikari: And now, on with the fic! Oh and one more thing, since the story now mention Axl is Netto, here's a few things you must know:

Netto – his human name.

Axl – his reploid name and nickname, it will be used in battle scenes and some occasional events.

Netto Alex Hikari – His whole name.

Hikari: Oh and another thing, Sora's whole name is Sora Miriku Hikari… Okay, on with the fic!

P.S. In this chapter, you'll get confuse on how Sora and the other characters will call Netto AKA Axl, for confusion safety: Axl and Netto are one and the same person.

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Rockman.exe or MMX, if I do I would've add my own reploid, Infinite, in the X series! XD!)

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Crossing back

It's a peaceful morning and for once the mavericks are not causing chaos in the city, and this kind of event happens rarely. As X calmly signing some papers that Nana bought in…

"Get back here, you little pest!" a familiar voice boomed outside his office, and X nearly fell off his chair. Then Axl and Sora came running in, while laughing their heads off, as Zero, who's covered in whip cream, tries to grab either one of them.

"Nya! Can't catch us!" Sora shouts playfully, as she dodge Zero's arm and landed on Axl's back. "Ride like the wind, Bullseye!" she shouts, and they both ran out of the office with Zero chasing on their tail and X stunned.

Ever since last night conversation, Sora and Axl decided to prank either X or Zero a bit. Something to make them relax and have fun a bit before they began their search on their way home. After all, they are still pair of 16 year old teenagers… right?

After the chase, Sora and Axl retreated back to the suite where Rouge is irritatingly waiting on the coffee table. "I can't believe you two…" Rouge started, as Sora and Axl cheerfully sat down on the couch. "You guys are so irresponsible! You're both 16 and still acting like kids?! We should be looking for our way home, for Pete's sake!" Rouge exclaimed.

When Rouge woke up a few hours ago, she nearly rebooted when Sora told her that Axl is her long-lost brother, Netto. But of course, she didn't believed her that quick, only after Axl told Rouge about how he help her and his sister when Dr. Regal, Duo and when they were in Beyondard…… well, now she does believed the two. And they agreed to find their way home, if only the Sora and Netto can get their head in the game.

As Sora tries to calm the enraged navi down, Netto sadly smiles at the scene. He really misses his net navi and brother, Rockman, and couldn't help but leak out a tiny tear. Still… can he believe that he's Netto?

Then he felt something on his hand, he looks at it and saw Sora is holding it and smiling gently at him with full of concern.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see our family and friends again." Sora said, and he slowly smiled.

"Thanks sis." Netto said, as the two are about to get some snacks from the kitchen, the maverick alarm went off. They looked at each other and shrugs. "Ah well, at least we can get a bit of exercise." He said.

"Right… oh and we better keep a distance from Zero." Sora reminded her brother.

"I will." Axl said, as they both ran out of the suite and heads to the command center.

(Meanwhile… in Cybertronic, at SciLab.)

"There… it's finish." Yuuichiro said, as he observed his replica of the Dimension Breaker.

The machine looks similar to the one that was used in Sharo, except for a few differences. For instance, the machine can withstand a 12 hour endurance, and the portal can stay open that long. It is also smaller than the original one, so it could support the rip thru space and lessen the strong vacuum. Also the Dimensional Breaker can only support 2 people, unlike the original, so anymore than 2, the machine might explode and the travellers may get themselves stuck in the dimensional vortex.

To be honest, dimension hopping or parallel-world traveling sounds ridiculous or impossible, right? Then again, the Net Saviours have experience it once when the Cyberbeasts are looking for Trill, and by events Sora and the other were sent to Beyondard… So in short, dimension hopping sounds possible.

"So this can…" Rockman said, and Yuuichiro nodded. Then Enzan and Laika came, and one of them is ready to go to the other side of the portal.

"Enzan, arigato for helping us." Rockman said, as the dual-hair vice president looks at the machine.

"So… is this thing ready?" Laika asked, as Enzan prepares himself to jump into it.

"In about 15 minutes." Yuuichiro said, as he types something in the computer to make sure that the machine has enough energy and stabilizers to support the portal. But unknown to them, a cloak person appeared behind one of the machines and cuts off a few wires. He then drops his beam knife on the floor and disappeared out of sight.

'Sora… I hope I can see you soon.' Rockman thought, as he help his father input the codes and data in the right places.

(Back in Reploidian)

"Cross Gun! Slot-in!" CF Rouge said, as her hand and forearm becomes a gun which fires a "plus sign" pattern, destroying a small group of mavericks. While Axl shot the mavericks' head off with his Ancient Gun. After that, CF Rouge summons her Gear from subspace, which she installed in her PET, and they both flew to where X and Zero is.

"Man, this kind of work and battles are hard." CF Rouge said, as she transforms her left hand and arm into an R-Buster and shot off a maverick.

"But since our enemies became Net Navis, we begin to have a hard time fighting them." Axl (AKA Netto) said, as they hop off the Gear, sent it back into subspace and ran into the building. "And that's hard too." He added.

"If only you could Cross Fuse, then I can get a lot of help." CF Rouge said, as she saw a Spark Bee virus and quickly slices it with her Sword. "Careful, we don't want you going maverick on us!" she joked.

"Oh ha, ha, sis, very funny…" Axl said sarcastically, as he evades the Spark Bees and ran beside his sister while she continues to delete them. "And besides, I'm a reploid now, and you told me that it is impossible for me to Cross Fuse."

"… Point taken." CF Rouge said as she slices a huge version of Powie in half. They then quickly entered another hall, and Axl kick the stutters shut to keep the viruses on bay. "By the way, how did you get the X and Zero Soul Unison?" she asked out of curiosity.

"I'll tell you when the mission is over." Axl said, as he dodges another Powie.

Meanwhile, X and Zero are fighting against an enemy… that kept coming back no matter how much they beat him… Sigma.

But this time, X and Zero can do nothing but to dodge his attacks… why? He's a Net Navi now, and like Axl said before, they are like fighting against a ghost. And only Sora in her CF form can beat him.

As X dive in for cover, Zero took his turn to distract the maverick-turned-navi. "Hey, Captain Cue ball! Over here!" Zero shouts, as he sent an energy beam at him. Although all of their weapons cannot work against the navis, they find it useful in distraction in order to buy more time so CF Rouge can get here.

Sigma saw this and laughs at Zero's attempt to slice him in half, and then he suddenly uses Flame Tower on Zero. Seeing this, Zero ran fast to avoid getting hit by the inferno tower. Then Sigma uses Lightning Blast and aims it towards X, who has no clues that the evil Net Navi is aiming for him.

"X! Look out!" Axl shouts, as CF Rouge quickly used Area steal and Barrier to shield X.

"Thanks." X said, who's nearly freak-out by Sigma's attacks.

"No biggie and I suggest you three to hide." CF Rouge said, and ran out of cover. "ARMOR Change! Lancaster Armor!" she said.

A bright light surrounds her and soon died, replacing CF Rouge's armor with a new one. The Lancaster armor has a white and lavender jumpsuit with a purple armor adorning a pair of orb-like shoulder pads, and one on her back. Her helmet also changes, it became very knight-like; the 2 pair of wings on the side of her helmet became fins, and her gem on her helmet became lavender like her jumpsuit. Her gloves and boot also have an orb on them, each one attach on her back of her hand, knees and ankles. And her loin cloth suddenly shrunk a little and on her white belt are two mini-sized orbs that hold the loin cloth, additional to the armor is the white cape-like scarf. This armor specializes on defense and close combat, and has a pair of weapons: Double Bloom, which is a saber on one hand and the other one is a shield. She also have a pair of signature attacks, first one is Rose Cross: she first slashes a cross shaped energy beam attack and throws it at the enemy, with rose petals flying out of it for special effect. And the other is called Rosenkreuz; it creates a triple barrier to protect her and her comrades using the orbs from her armor. This armor is created out of Yuriko's fascination in the War of the Roses history, and she thought that Rouge will look elegant in a knight armor.

"Woah… Her armor looks more stylish than yours, X." Axl commented, seeing CF Rouge's new armor. The three hunters then run for cover as CF Rouge fought against Sigma herself.

As she tries to find Sigma's weak point, something suddenly took form in the middle of the floor…

(In Cybertronic)

Yuuichiro activated the portal and it is a success, but something went wrong and the portal began to blow everyone to the wall. Then the computer began to flash a warning sign and a female computer voice saying…

"Warning, warning, Dimensional Breaker unstable, automatic shutdown within 5 minutes." It said.

"What's going on?!" Laika shouts, as he holds on the desk.

"I don't know! But you have to hold on or you'll get blown away of this building!" Rockman shouts, as Yuuichiro held on another desk for dear life.

(Back in Reploidian.)

"Whoa!" CF Rouge yelped, as the void took form and began to suck everything in. Swift as a cat, Axl quickly got out of their hiding place and quickly grabs his sister. He then took a pipe and stabs it on the floor; they then hang on it for their life. Sigma, some computers and some other stuff were suck into the portal. Zero quickly uses his Z-Saber to stab the floor, he then catches X who was sent flying to the portal and they both hang on.

"Thanks Z." X said.

"No problem, how are the two kids are doing?" Zero asked.

"We're okay!" CF Rouge shouts, who heard Zero and she and Axl are waving at them.

"_Ngghhhh… I can't hold on much longer."_ Axl said in his mind-link, as his grip is slowly starting to slip away since they are much nearer from the void. After he confesses to Sora, they can suddenly begin talking to each other only in their mind like what they used to do with Rockman.

"_Netto, don't give up."_ CF Rouge said, encouraging her brother. Then X notices a huge metal crate is being suck and is heading toward Axl and CF Rouge.

"Axl! Sora! Look out!" X shouts in alert. Axl and Sora looked at what X is pointing, and saw the huge metal crate that is about slam right at them.

"Holy! Axl, let go!" CF Rouge said in alert, not thinking that the void behind them is going to suck them in. And Axl did what he is told, after seeing the huge crate, letting him and his sister to be sucked in the void.

Then all of the sudden, the portal exploded in light and vanished in a flash. The two legendary hunters, who were left behind, place their hands on their knees as they took a deep breath and looks around the area.

"Are you okay, X?" Zero asked.

"Yeah… but where's-" X suddenly stopped and realizes what happened to Sora and Axl. "Oh no… Sora and Axl were sucked in that void!" he said frantically, is it the end for Sora and Axl?

NOT!

(Back in Cybertronic… 2 days later)

"Mmmm…" Sora moans as she opens her eyes but she shut them by the sudden brightness, she then opens her eyes again and looks around. 'I'm…… in a hospital?' Sora thought, as she looked at the ceiling '… Was it all a dream?'

"Aw man… I can't believed they do that to him." A familiar voice said, and Sora slowly turns her head to the source. On the bedside is her PET and Rouge looks quite annoyed on something.

"… R-rouge?" Sora whispered hoarsely, and Rouge heard and looks at her Operator.

"Sora!" Rouge shouts in happiness, seeing her NetOp awake.

"… What h-ha-happen?" Sora whispered, although her voice still sound bit raspy.

"We're home, Sora, thanks to dad, Enzan, Laika and Rockman… But they arrested Axl and placed him in jail in the Net Saviours HQ at Sharo." Rouge explained. "I tried to tell them that Axl is not a bad guy, but no one listened… So I can only hope that you may shed light in this matter."

"…I see…" Sora said weakly and her voice is no longer rough. "Did you tell them that's he's Netto?" she asked.

"Nope… I do not think they'll believe it, I mean, Netto's dead for three years in this world. Plus his body is also buried in Densan Cemetery." Rouge said, as Sora began to move slowly and notices a bag of clothes that her parents left for her.

A few moments later, a nurse came to check on Sora but only to shriek on what she saw… she is gone, her hospital gown is placed on the chair and the window is open.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the sidewalks…

"SORA MIRIKU HIKARI! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!" Rouge shouts at her NetOp, luckily there are only a few people in the streets today as Sora ran to the nearby taxi stand. Ironically, the hospital area is bit far from the taxi stand, so Sora has to hop out of the window and ran a block to get there.

"Hey, I've said I'm sorry, but I can't leave my brother alone in Sharo." Sora said, as she saw a taxi coming by. "Besides, what if they discover that Axl is a reploid and begins to disassemble him?" she asked. "And another thing, please do not shout near my ears" she added, wincing a bit as she rubbed her ears to stop it ringing.

"That…… would be bad." Rouge said slowly, after realizing what would happen to the reincarnated Hikari. "And sorry about that." she sheepishly apologized. As the taxi stops besides them, she hops into it and told the driver to head to the airport. Luckily, she has enough zenny in her PET and her Net Saviour license to cover all the trip's expenses.

As the taxi heads to the nearby airport, Sora tries to contact Netto with their mind link.

"_Netto-kun! Netto-kun!" _Sora called.

"_Hey! Sora, are you okay?"_ Netto asked, a bit worried.

"_I got nanobots in my body that is automatically healing me, duh?"_ Sora said. _"What about you?"_

"_Well… they tried interrogating me, then they place me in jail, and the prisoners tried to beat me as a welcome… but they end up having sore hands and feet."_ Netto said sheepishly.

"… _And they won't appreciate that…"_ Sora said, as the taxi arrived at the airport and paid the driver the exact amount that the machine said. _"Anyway, who's there?"_ Sora asked.

"_Laika, dad… some officials… Commissioner Kifune, Manabe, Meijin and your boyfriend, Enzan."_ Netto said.

"_Okay… Wait for me there and DO NOT think of insulting my boyfriend about his hair."_ Sora said, as she shows her license to the counter, pretending that there is an important meeting in Sharo and the pilots decided gave her a free ride.

"_Aren't you resting in the hospital?"_ Netto asked, ignoring his sisters warning.

"_Eh heh… I kinda got out early."_ Sora said sheepishly and sweatdropped. Netto made a face about it when he realizes what Sora actually did.

"_Papa won't appreciate that."_ Netto said, as Sora laughs nervously as she hops aboard the plane.

(A few hours later)

Sora stepped out of the airport and smelled the icy wind of Sharo. She then enters a clothing store to buy a few things, but as usual her Net Navi is protesting on why they must shop for clothes.

"Rouge, we're in Sharo winter wonderland? If we're going to help Netto, we need to blend in." Sora said, after picking a black cap, a blue coat and a black cargo pants with a white stripe going on top to bottom on each side of the pants. "Besides, the people will look weirdly at us if we don't have the right attire." She added, as she enters the dressing room to change. After paying for the clothes, she called for a taxi and heads to the Net Saviour HQ Sharo branch.

Upon reach the place, she joined a group of tourist to get in easily without the guard saying at her "Welcome, Net Saviour Sora."

After all, the doctor said that she will wake up after a week of rest, as Rouge reminded her of that before she escaped the hospital.

As she walks with the crowd, Rouge enters the net to locate where Netto is, along with Sora's family and friends. "Sora, take the right path. And be careful, there are guards there; make sure no one spots you." Rouge said, as Sora nodded.

To be honest, Sora hasn't visit the Net Saviour HQ in Sharo, so she didn't know where to go and depends on Rouge for directions. As Sora follows Rouge's instruction, she began using the skills that she learned from X, Zero and her brother, Axl. By the time she reaches the facility, she made a note to herself to thanks Zero for teaching her and because her stealth skills have improved a lot. She then quietly enters the room, plugged out her Net Navi, and there she saw almost everyone she knew, and is interrogating the young reploid.

"Okay, who are you? And what did you do to Sora?" Commissioner Kifune asked sternly.

"Hey, I've already said that my name is Axl and I did nothing to Sora." Axl (AKA Netto) said, who is sitting on a chair with a light above him, a table at the front and is wearing an outfit for prisoners. Like the ones in polices and mystery flicks

"Liar." Laika snapped, still the group doesn't want to believe him… well… Yuuichiro wanted to go easy but since the commissioner disapproved it, there's nothing he can do to help the boy.

When the commissioner asked him another question and Axl is about to answer it, he saw his sister waving a bit and smiled a bit. "Then why don't you ask her then?" Axl asked.

"We can't, she in a comatose and the doctor said that she'll wake up in a week." Enzan said.

"Or is right here, watching… so on, so forth." Sora said boringly, and everyone turns around and saw her on the bridge on top of them, and is grinning a lot.

"Sora!" Everyone exclaimed, excluding Axl, who stood up and places his hand in his pockets. Sora then jumps off the bridge and landed gracefully on the ground without much trouble.

'Mental note: when I get back to X's and Zero's world, say thank you for the training lessons… it really does help improving my ability.' Sora thought, as the group surrounded her to see if she's okay.

"Guys, I'm fine, there's no need to worry about me." Sora said, trying to calm them a bit.

"But the doctor said-" But Yuuichiro got cut off by his daughter.

"A week? I know, I know, but due to what happened to me last 3 months… I'll say few things change." Sora said. "Right, Axl?" she asked, and winks at her reploid brother.

"Right." Axl said, standing near her as he looks at his friends and family.

"By the way, this is Axl; he helped me a lot during my journey in the other world." Sora said, and the group looked at him with apology. Hey, they didn't know that he is helping Sora in the other world.

"Sorry… We mistaken you for-" Kifune said, but he is cut off when Axl gently waves his hands at them.

"It's okay, besides I didn't feel hurt at all." Axl said, and Sora glared at her brother.

"What?" he asked, and she mentally slapped herself.

"_You didn't hurt yourself, but you gave sore hands and feet to the prisoners."_ Sora reminded her brother, who in turn sheepishly scratches the back of his head and sweatdropped at the same time.

"_Eh hehe, should I apologize?" _Axl asked.

"_Never mind."_ Sora answered back, and looks at the others.

"So… what happen in Beyondard?" Yuuichiro asked.

"Oh… I didn't go there. I went to a whole different world." Sora said, and this gave her father a look of amazement and shock. She knew what is her father's thinking right now… Could there be another world besides Beyondard?

"I do not know what the world is called, but for now I'll call it Reploidian." She said.

"Reploidian? What kind of a name is that?" Axl asked, feeling a little angry and insulted because of the name she given to his foster home.

"Can't think of any… sorry." Sora said, shrugging a bit.

"What is the other world like?" Yuuichiro asked, emitting a certain aura of curiosity from him… well, he is a scientist, duh?

"Well… in the other world, there are no Net Navis, as in none, Na da, zippo, zero percent none... but… there are some appeared out of nowhere and attacks me and my new friends…." Sora said, scratching her forehead a bit. "Anyway, instead there are robots called Reploids that are created to help and work in the human society… Think of it as a Net Navi in a metal body."

"Really?" Rockman asked, and is hoping that he may come out to the real world using it.

"Yep! And Axl here is one of them." Sora said, placing her arm on his shoulder. And everyone looked at him, who suddenly gawked in amazement when Axl summons his armor and weapon from subspace.

"Axl, here, is a New Generation Reploid." Rouge said, appearing from her PET

"New Generation?" Enzan asked, looking at the orange-hair teen.

"Yup, he's a prototype too… A prototype of a human mind, heart and soul can be a part of a reploid system. Like what you did to Saito, dad… ummm… only it's a different story." Sora said, winking at Rockman.

"So then, he was a human before." Enzan said.

"You got that right, mutant hair freak." Axl said, and the dual-hair boy froze on the spot.

"Hey, didn't Netto called you like that before, Enzan-sama?" Blues asked, as Sora glared at her brother, who in turn shifts nervously.

"Hey Liki-chan, how's your day?" Axl asked, ignoring his sister's glare and Laika is either shock or angry and froze on the spot like Enzan did. He never like that nickname since a certain brother of Sora gave it to him.

"_Liki-chan?" _Sora asked.

"_It's the nickname I gave him when we were once working together." _Netto said, snickering.

"_Really? Well, I usually called him, Lai-chan, but Liki-chan sounds much cuter. I'll keep that nickname in mind." _Sora said, as Netto struggles to keep himself from rolling on he floor laughing. After calming himself down, he looks at Rockman and unknown to them, a symbol on the Hikari siblings' chests gave a quick glow and gave a feeling of warmth in their hearts.

"_What was that?"_ Rockman asked, not knowing that he is using his mind link.

"_Rockman?"_ Netto called, and Rockman's eyes widens.

"_Netto-kun? Netto-kun!" _Rockman called back, as he looks around to find his long-lost brother.

"What's wrong, Rockman?" Yuuichiro asked, seeing that Rockman is acting strangely.

"Netto-kun… Netto-kun is alive." Rockman said, looking around. "I know what you're going to say, but believe me, the link he and I have suddenly woke up and… and… he began calling me."

"If so, then…" Manabe said.

"He's near… I can feel it." Rockman said, still looking around. _"Netto-kun, where are you?" _he called.

"_Here."_ Netto said.

"_Where?"_ Rockman asked, as Netto decide to spill the whole thing.

"_Remember what Sora said about the New Generation Reploid?"_ Netto asked, and smiled at his sister, who heard the whole thing in their mind link and smiled back.

"_You mean…"_ Rockman said, as his eyes widens more, if possible, and looks at Axl.

"I'm back, Saito-kun." Netto said, smiling gently at his family and friends. And everyone is shock… Netto Hikari, the former hero of Densan city, came back from the death as a reploid named Axl.

After the shock, Yuuichiro welcomes his son back and hugs him, and Netto also makes sure that he doesn't crush his father his own strength. Rockman can't help but to cry as Rouge lend him her shoulder so he can cry on it, and Sora can't help but to shake her head by her older brother's action. As the other welcomed the former Net Saviour back, Sora frowns as she began thinking… is her stay is over, now that Netto came back?

She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looks whose it is… Netto.

"Hey sis, I guess we're going to be one happy family." He said grinning, and soon she too smiled.

'I guess I'm still staying' Sora thought, as Yuuichiro began talking to the group about Netto's return and how are they going to tell his family and Netto's friends about it…

That is going to be a problem… but for now, Yuuichiro gave the PET, which Rockman's in, to Netto and then they heads to the airport so they can go back to Densan city.

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Hikari: Yes! I got this one up! Luckily, a certain cousin of mine has a laptop in the province. So I typed it, save it in the disk and then I loaded up into the computer and done… Weeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! "Swinging on the trapeze"

Hibari: Okay… who gave her sugar… again?!

Crickets: chirp, chirp, chirp… (What? I forget what the crickets' sounds sometimes.)

Hibari: … I hate you all sometimes… Anyway, please read and review as I try to get my aibou down. Thank you.


	18. Reunion, the good and the bad

Connected Hearts – Reunion, the good and the bad.

Hibari: Hey, Hibari here, I'm taking this chapter over as my aibou tries to calm down from the sugar rush… Ow… Okay, so last chapter, Sora and Netto are now home and the Net Saviours were thrilled to have them back. But what will happen if Sora and Netto are reunited with their mother, their old friends, and their old enemies? And where the hell is Sigma went to this time? Let's find out, but first reviewers and disclaimers:

jhvh777: Dude, why don't you try feeding your partner some sugar and after that, try calming him her down and see how ya feel! (A/N: Dude, this is Hibari who's writing not me.)

Blue Star Sapphire: Right away, captain! "And tosses the chapter to the readers to scavenge upon."

Slayer.EXE: Now that Sigma is in the Hikari siblings' homeworld… I think there will be a lot of trouble, and no, I don't think Hikari is sending X and Zero there... who the hell will protect Reploidian from the mavericks?

Yami Amy Lau: Like what my aibou said, they are not coming. Sora and Netto must face this one their own… well with a little help from Enzan and Laika. But for spoilers… Vile is coming back! (A/N: Hey! You weren't supposed to tell them that!)

Axl: To be honest, Hibari… you are so boring. "Then he suddenly screamed when Hibari transform into a huge red dragon and fainted."

Hibari: Did my aibou forget to mention that I am a half-human and half-dragon? "Looking at the cast and readers with her puppy-dog eyes, as she transform back in her human form."

The readers, X and Rockman.EXE cast: "swallowed and shook their heads"

Hibari: Well… since now you know… make sure you do not piss me off again. "In her baby-ish voice and then turn in a deep, dangerous one as she says." Right? "With her eyes flaring fire at them."

The casts and readers: Yes ma'am!

Hibari: Good! "Reverting into her cheerful self." Anyway here's the disclaimer and enjoy the fic.

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Rockman.exe or MMX, if I do I would've found a way to make the pigs fly! XD!)

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Reunion, the good and the bad.

Transporting a reploid is easier said than done, as Sora, her father, and the Net Saviours crosses a lot of problems to get Netto back in Densan city.

"Aw man… I knew we should've put him in a box." Rouge whined, as the security tries to find any metal in Netto's pockets and clothes… but in fact, his body is made out of metal!!!

"Well… it's a good thing he turned his armor offline." Sora mumbled to herself, as Netto tries to convince the guard that he's wearing metal plate.

After a lot of convincing, deals and so forth, the group managed to get Netto into the plane and heads home. As Sora sighs out, Netto looks out of the window and only saw the shining sun and fluffy clouds. As if mocking that the world he is born in is much better than his broken-down foster homeworld, and frowns at it.

"Different?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, it's like nothing has change here. Yet back in Reploidian, it feels like the world is dying and the mavericks can't do thing but to make it worse." Netto said, looking away from the window.

"I agree… Pity… I cannot do anything. I mean, all I do is bust-out viruses and mavericks." Sora said, as she leans back on her seats. "If only we can send a few Net Saviours there, then we might be able to make the world a little better."

Netto sighs, as he looks outside… he can't help thinking of his foster home, his current family and friends on what will happen now that they are both in another world.

"By the way Netto… did you dyed your hair?" Yuuichiro asked who happens to be sitting beside Sora and notices that his son's hair is orange. "Didn't your mother told you not to dye it." He said sternly, as Netto sheepishly laugh a bit.

"It's a funny story, papa." Netto said, sweatdropping a bit.

"And while you're at it, don't forget telling on how did you got the X and Zero Soul Unison." Sora said, and began thinking. "I wonder what mom will do to you now that you broke a rule?" she asked. "But since you are a reploid, I guess spanking is out of the order." She added, grinning as the two Net Navis giggled a lot.

"Ha, ha… What am I? Five?" Netto asked sarcastically, as he sulks down in his seat.

After they got out of the airport it is already night time, and Enzan lends the Hikari family one of his limos so they can rest and discuss Netto's comeback tomorrow. Sora thanked him with a kiss and Netto silently made a "gak" sound, but she heard it, then grabs and throws her brother into the car like a crowbar. Lucky for Enzan, the door on the other side is still intact… although he might replace it because of the huge dent.

"Ehe… I got nanobots in my body… Sorry 'bout the door, Enzan-kun." Sora said sheepishly, as everyone gawks at her… Reploids weights are sometimes two or three times heavier than ordinary humans, but Sora can lift them up without a sweat.

After that eventful show, Sora and Yuuichiro hops into the limo and head home.

"Man… Nothing has change here at all." Netto said, looking out of the window. "Hey, that's Higure's!" he exclaimed, pointing at the small shop where the rare chip otaku lived. "Hey, is Higure still a rare chip addict?" He asked.

"Yeah, he still is." Rockman said, appearing on Netto's shoulder and is smiling. A few months ago, Rockman couldn't smile since he lost his two siblings. But now Sora came back with Netto, who actually alive as a reploid, he was overjoyed.

"Hey, when I 'died', what happened to my friends?" Netto asked, as he looks at his brother and sister.

"Well… for starters, the Neo WWW and WWW are permanently gone and some of them became Net Saviours around the world. Dr. Wily is now working with dad in SciLab, Enzan is still the vice president of IPC and Laika is staying here for high school." Sora said.

"Laika enrolled here? That's surprising." Netto said, with amusement.

"Well… he not bad when you get to know him. Anyway, Yaito is still the richest girl in town." Sora said.

"With an army of maids and servants and transportations to the boot." Rouge added, as Sora and Rockman laughs a bit.

"You got that right." Sora said, as she straight up a bit. "Anyway, something's weird…"

"What's weird?" Rockman asked.

"Zero, Colonel and Iris… I'm sure you heard Colonel and Iris from Zero, right?" Sora asked.

"Yeah." Netto said, not noticing that Rockman has several question marks floating around his head.

"Those three have a net navi counterpart in our world." Sora said. "But I can't find Rouge's, or Rockman's or Blues' or anyone's counterpart."

"What?" Netto asked in confusion.

"What Sora meant is… when we came to your world, we discover that there are reploids that exist similarly in our world as net navis." Rouge said.

"Oh… so Zero, Colonel and Iris have counterparts? Wait, are they still here?" Netto asked.

"Nope, Colonel.exe and Iris.exe are living together in Beyondard, another parallel world, and Zero.exe was deleted…" Sora said, trailing off from the last sentence.

"Oh… it's a pity, too bad Zero couldn't meet him. I'm pretty sure that he will freak out if he did." Netto said, as Sora ignored the memory of Zero.exe. "Anyway, how 'bout the others?" he asked.

"Dekao is a cook in Maharama curry shop, Tohru is in third year high… pretty much living an ordinary life. That fish-man guy… errr… Masa-san? He is still giving out fish and still bragging that we need to eat fish to gain calcium." Sora said, as Netto sweatdropped and laughs a bit.

"I guess Masa-san will never change." Netto said.

"Yeah… Saloma is still working in the flower shop and Miyuki is still a fortune teller." Rockman said.

"And Meiru… became one of the Plastics." Sora said. (A/N: If you watch the movie called Mean Girls which Lindsay Lohan starred in, you'll get the idea.)

"A what?" Netto asked

"Plastics… that's what we call to the popular girls who thinks they're the queens of everything, and steps on the underdogs a lot in America." Sora explained.

"I hate them… because of them Sora nearly got in trouble in school!" Rouge exclaimed, with a lot of annoyance in her voice. As Sora tries to calm her partner down, Netto began thinking… what exactly happen to Meiru?

When they reach home, Sora thanked the driver and apologizes about the door. Then she rejoins her dad and Netto, and then they head to their house and saw a familiar face near the front door.

"Sora!" Haruka shouts, as ran from the door and hugs her daughter, and is slightly afraid that she might disappear again.

"Mom… A… Air… Air…!" Sora choked out, as Netto snickered a bit and their mother releases her.

"Whoops, I'm sorry." Haruka apologizes, as Sora took huge breath, she notices an orange hair teen beside her husband. "And who is this young man?" she asked.

"Believe it or not, it's a long story." Both Sora and Rockman said at the same time, and then looks at each other. They enter the house and Netto suddenly felt a bubbly feeling inside him, causing him to leak out tears.

"_Welcome home, Netto-kun." _Rockman said, smiling at him.

"_Yeah, welcome home, Netto-kun."_ Sora said who is also smiling.

"_T-t-thanks guys"_ Netto stuttered a bit, as his eyes began to swell and leak out more tears.

After the short tearful moment, they sat in the living room and began to explain Sora's and Netto's story. "Mom, the reason he's here is because he's our long-lost family member." Sora said.

"He is?" Haruka asked with a lot of curiosity.

"Well, yes I am, I remember how calm you are in dangers and when Papa comes home, you would always cook spaghetti for him." Netto said.

"… And sometimes I find that a bit annoying." Sora mumbled to herself as Haruka looks at Netto with wide eyes.

"Wait… Just who are you?" Haruka asked, and Netto just grinned.

"Mama… he's our missing family, Netto." Rockman said.

"But Saito, you saw your brother died three years ago. He can't still be alive after that Dark Blues." she said.

"Ummm… Mom, Dark Blues is permanently gone and I can reassure that." Sora said as she calms her down. "And didn't I kick Nebula's asses out of action… YOWCH!" Sora yelped as her mother whack her at the back of her head.

"Language, Sora." Haruka scolded her daughter.

"Ugh… Hai, mom." Sora said, as she rubs the sore spot and Rouge, Netto and Saito can't help but to laugh a little.

"Hehe, seriously, this guy is Netto. He really came back from the death as a reploid." Rouge said. "If you want proof, here it is…" she whispered to Haruka. "Hey Netto, Maharama gave Sora a fifty-percent discount for his curry sushi!"

"Really? Hey can we go there after this?" Netto said excitedly.

"Nope, and Rouge is just joking on you." Sora said, as Netto pouts and Rockman laughs a lot, and Haruka's eyes widens

"Oh, real funny, Rouge." Netto scowled.

"Oh my god… you're... YOU'RE MY LITTLE BOY!" Haruka said with joy and hugs her son, but soon she grabs him by the ear and pulled him hard. "WHY. DID. YOU. DYE. YOUR. HAIR!" She demanded, stressing each word. She felt pleased seeing the boys shrink away in fear of her wrath, Sora and Rouge, on the other hand, are relaxed somehow and Yuuichiro looked at them.

"What? She's not that scary…" Sora said.

"Except Triela's mom." Rouge reminded her.

"Oh yeah… the combination of bad make-up and wrinkles… eeeiiiiiiiii." Sora said, feeling the chills a bit, remembering how her friend's mom puts on make-up that cannot hide her age. Then her mom notices something…

"Netto, did you pierce your ears?" Haruka asked demandingly, while holding a white metal thing on Netto's ear.

"Uhhh… no, that's actually my ear." Netto said sheepishly, as Haruka let it go by surprise and everyone, except Sora and Rouge, looks at Netto.

"Wha? What happened to you?" Rockman asked, after noticing the metallic ear and confirms that is not normal… then again, resurrecting Netto as a robot with a free-will is not normal in this world.

"Whoa, relax Saito." Rouge said, as she tries to calm the blue navi a bit. "And didn't Sora told you that Netto is now a New Generation Reploid back in Sharo?" she asked, looking at Rockman with a weird expression.

"Whoops, I forgot… sorry." Rockman apologizes sheepishly, as Haruka is clueless on what Rouge and Rockman are saying.

"Reploids?" she asked, looking at her children for explanation.

"Right, anyway, it's a very long story so we appreciate if you all listen and try not to interrupt. Any questions that we can answer will be at the end, ok?" Sora said, their parents nodded and then looks at Netto. _"Ready?"_ Sora asked her brother.

"_Yep."_ Netto said, and took a deep breath and begins with his story. "When Dark Blues used that device on me, it sent me into an alternate universe. I was dropped into an alley way and there I was found by a girl, she took pity on me and brought me to a lab. She then pleaded the doctor to save me and agreed, but I already lost too much blood and he decided to take the risk on performing a process similar to what you did with Hub. My mind, heart and soul were transferred from the limbless, rotting flesh to a new body."

"In the world I was sent to, there are beings called Reploids. Reploids are sentient machines. We are self-aware and are perfectly capable of making their own decisions, free of programming restrictions. And it means that we are designed to be as close to human as possible, and can do anything humans can like eating and sleeping, heck can even have children if they want to…" Then he notices his mother's confuse face. "But to be a bit clear, think of a Net Navi in a metal body with a free-will on its own." He said, adding a few stuffs that describe Reploids better than Sora did back in Sharo. The sibling smiled when they saw the curiosity in their father's eyes but suddenly frown when they saw their mother is eyeing on Netto.

"I don't have any kids, mama." Netto quickly said.

"And it's true." Sora added.

"Wow… it's amazing." Yuuichiro said. "But does it follow the law of robotics?"

"No… Reploids are not bound against the laws. For reploids, the laws are really more of a set of guidelines." Sora explained "Although some do but the rest, nope." She added

"Also, Sora mentioned that Netto is a New Generation Reploid." Rouge said. "Well, here's why."

Axl summoned his basic armor, in a bright flash of light the dark blue and red armor and grey jumpsuit covered his body. He then use his copy ability and transform into Wild Jango, the fast agile bobcat-model Reploid. "See?" he said, giving his family except Sora quit a surprise, before reverting back into his original form.

The sibling took turns on telling their parents about their adventure in the other world, First, Yuuichiro, Haruka and Rockman listens as Netto went on explaining about the Maverick Wars, his part in Red Alert, and joining the Maverick Hunters. They not surprise to hear that Netto fought and destroyed mavericks, in order to protect the innocent in that world and took most of it without blinking. And then Sora took her turn of the story.

"Then that's where I came in… You see, a few months ago, I landed in Netto's world and met Colonel Barrel and his navi there." Sora said.

"Colonel Barrel is there?" Yuuichiro asked.

"Yeah, but we only got together for a short while. The mavericks kidnapped him." Sora said.

"Why?" Rockman asked.

"I dunno, they only mention something about a program." Sora said.

"What program?" Yuuichiro asked.

"I dunno, I didn't get the details much… Anyway, they took him and left me on the street with Barrel's bag and his PET. I tried to go after them, but you know me… I stink at driving." Sora said, blushing a bit as Rouge giggled.

"Hee… Back to the story, after Sora attempt to drive the Chaser for the whole week, we found where they took Barrel. But we got a problem…" Rouge said.

"Mavericks." Sora and Rouge said at the same time.

"They spotted us and tried to make a Swiss cheese out of me! Fortunately, before I was sent in the other world, I manage to slip a Synchro Chip version 2 in my pocket. And it work, I was able to Cross Fuse without the Dimensional Area and beat the crap out of those mavericks." Sora said, and she notice that her father's eyes are sparkling with excitement. She knows that her father was happy that one of the new version Synchro Chips work.

"But there is an unknown data in the chip you might want to look at." Rouge said, as Sora took this cue to hand one of the Synchro Chip ver. 2 to her father.

"Great, then your friends can use this without a problem." Yuuichiro said, pocketing the chip and then they continue with their story.

"After that, I ran to find Barrel, but instead I found some new friends and Netto. At first, I thought of 'after finding Barrel, I'll be ditching them and find my way home.' … But I kinda made a bond with them and decided to help with their maverick problems." Sora said.

"Unfortunately, we didn't do much since we're the only Net Saviour in that world." Rouge said. "So after running thru those obstacles, like avoiding the HSR, discovering Sora has natural nanobots in her body, becoming a Maverick Hunter, battling against mavericks-turned-net navis, we began to notice that there was something different on Axl." Rouge said, pointing at Netto.

"Axl?" Haruka asked, looking at her son strangely.

The New Generation Reploid laughed nervously, "Well...ya see...When I was placed in this body the girl renamed me Axl to hide the fact that I was originally human. Just like how Papa renamed Saito into Rockman to hide the big secret, about the fact that Rockman was once a human." He said, taking out the dog tag necklace with the name, Axl, craved on it and a letter. When Axl AKA Netto arrived in Red Alert and is given a room, he saw a letter attach to his dog tag. And it says to use the name on the dog tag to hide the fact that he is once a human, or else the maverick will use him against his will. Lucky for Netto, he did use his new name when he first saw Red and before he notice the letter… after all, he was slightly shaken from experiencing his first activation and his first maverick attack.

The blue navi glared at his sibling and said, "I can't believe that you left something like that out."

"Sorry, I'm just so used to being called Axl that it just kinda slipped off my mind." Axl apologized, as he places the two items on the coffee table.

"Yeah… besides, if the mavericks discover that he's reploid with a human soul, they might use him as an advantage against the Maverick Hunters." Sora said. "And that's bad. Also wouldn't that happen to you if Nebula found out that you were once human?"

"I… guess so…" Rockman said thoughtfully, giving Netto an apologizing look for glaring at him.

"It's okay." Netto said. "Back to the story… The reason I was acting a bit strange is… what if she freak out and reject me after I told her that I am Netto, her long-lost brother…"

"Now why would I do that?" Sora asked.

"Because I was dead in this world for 3 years." Netto said, looking at his sister.

"Oh… Sorry." Sora said, and then she heard her brother's stomach growled and giggles while Netto blushes a bit. "Hee… should we cut the story short?" she asked.

"Right… so it took me long to confess to her that I'm Netto, then after confessing, Sora and I began to find our way home when the maverick alarm went off." Netto said.

"Of course, we went into the scene, fought against the maverick-turned-net navis when all of the sudden a portal appeared out of nowhere and sent us back home." Rouge said.

"Still… who's reviving the maverick into net navis?" Netto asked, looking at his sister.

"Not me, robot boy. If I do, I would've conquered the whole alternate world right now. And I think we should give those kinds of evil net navis some kind of name." Sora said, as their family continues to listen.

"Why?" Rouge asked.

"Dude, if we call the bad reploids, Mavericks, what should we call to those bad mavericks-turned- net navis?" Sora asked, and gave Rouge and Netto quite of thinking.

"…Hmmm… how about Renegade?" Netto suggested.

"Renegades?" Sora asked. "Sounds different and it's not too bad… it kinda suits them… Renegades it is. Oh, what about the X and Zero soul unison?" Sora asked.

"That… well, remember the day that navi was suddenly revived by that dark beam?" Netto asked, as Sora nodded. "I was there watching and when I saw that you're losing, I somewhat pleaded to the sky to help you and got myself turned into a little spark. And for some reason, a spark of X and Zero appeared from the sky and helped you, and you know the rest of the story." He said, scratching the back of his head a bit.

"Oh…… and dad, don't even think of disassembling my brother." She warned, noticing the certain spark in her father's eyes.

"And Sora has a point there." Rouge said, and is glaring at Yuuichiro, who in turn agreed to her NetOp. Then Haruka and Sora prepares dinner, while Yuuichiro and Netto continue to discuss about the differences of the first-gen reploids from the new-gen reploids. And Rockman is glad that the whole family is together again.

(The next day.)

Netto yawns as he rubs his eyes out of sleep. "Man, what a dream-" but he was cut off when he notices that he wasn't dreaming at all, he's actually back home.

"Oh my god… I'm not dreaming… I'm actually home!" Netto exclaimed happily, then the PET on his desk turned on, and Rockman began to taking form in the screen.

"Ohayo, Netto-kun, you're early today." Rockman said cheerfully.

"Hey." Netto said, smiling at his brother.

"So, how does it feel to be a reploid?" Rockman asked.

"Well… it feels weird at first when I first woke or "activated", I mean your whole body is made out of metal, wires and all. But, nevertheless, I got used to it." Netto said.

"Sora! Netto! Breakfast is ready!" Haruka called the two from downstairs.

"Hai!" Both Netto and Sora, who's in another room, shouts.

As Netto grabs his PET, Rockman stops him. "What?" Netto asked.

"Wouldn't you need to change your clothes?" Rockman asked, pointing at the dark blue T-shirt with a single red stripe on the chest, blue jeans and white socks his brother is wearing yesterday till now. Unfortunately, these are the only clothes that Netto bought… Hey, no one expects that the can send them home from the other world.

"Oh right." Netto said, as he opens his closet but frowns on what he saw.

"What's wrong?" Rockman asked.

" I can't wear these, it's too small." Netto stated out, showing Rockman his old pre-teen clothes. And Rockman agrees to that one, as he just notices that Netto has gain height of a 17 year old… Netto seriously needs some new clothes.

(A few moments later)

As Sora munch on a toast, Netto came and she suddenly spit the toast back on her plate on what she saw. **"Dude! That's Dad's clothes!"** Sora stated out, as Netto rolled his eyes back and sat down beside his sister.

"I know I didn't bring some of my clothes with me." Netto said sourly, as he took a toast and munch on it.

"Sorry… It's just… well, for once, that suits you. It makes you look smart." Sora said sheepishly, as Netto gave her a glare. "What? I was a geek once back in America, before I became the heroine of the Cyber world."

Then the phone rang and Sora quickly uses this excuse to avoid Netto's glares at her. "Hello, this is the Hikari residence." Sora said.

"Sora! You're back!" a familiar voice shouted thru the phone, making Sora's ear ring and Netto snicker a bit when he saw his sister's reaction.

"Yowch… Hey, Yai-chan. Yeah, this girl is back in town… a party? Thanks, but is that even necessary? Okay… Riiight… oh, by the way, we have an old friend who came back today. Nope, it's a surprise… No hints, nope, nada, my lips are sealed… Okay, see you this afternoon… Right, I'll try get Enzan and Liki-chan…Okay, bye-bye." Sora said, and places the phone back on its cradle. She then turns around to look at Netto and grins.

"Hey, are you ready to meet your old friends again?" Sora asked, and Netto had a mixed feeling pasted on his face… excitement and nervousness. Seeing this, Sora gently pats her brother by the back and gave him a smile. "Don't worry, it'll be okay. After all, getting over the drama is better than hiding from it." She said, giving her brother an encouraging smile.

(A few hours later)

Sora and the boys arrived at Yaito's place by Enzan's limo, and Netto notices that not a thing has change… except for the amusement park they saw at the very back. 'Ehehe, Yaito-chan hasn't change a bit." Netto thought, as the gate open and the limo enters thru it. As Sora tries to convince Enzan and Laika to stay for the party, which currently failing, Sora notices something on Netto.

"Hey Netto, how come your hair became limp when you're mot wearing your helmet?" Sora asked, pointing that her brother's hair that is currently tied into a ponytail, like Zero does, and only reaches on the chest line.

"Ummm… I don't really know… for all I know, that there is some kind of anti-gravity thingy in my helmet." Netto said, scratching his forehead a bit.

"Really?" Sora asked and her brother nodded, then she and Netto talk about Netbattling and some stuffs back in Reploidian.

By the time they arrive of the front door, Netto accidentally broke the limo's door and gave the two male Net Saviours, especially Enzan, quite a shock. Sora can do nothing about the door but to whack her brother at the back of his head, and told him to control his strength. After apologizing for the door, Netto places the broken door in the limo's trunk and Enzan instructed the driver to get the car a new door. If not, Enzan has to buy a new one… till then the limo drove off to IPC (Enzan) and the Net Saviour HQ (Laika) with a door missing on its side.

"…Wait, I'll knock the door." Sora said quickly, before Netto could even think of knocking on the huge, wooden door. She knew that the heiress would not appreciate a hole on the door, so she must pull Netto away from things that can be easily broken by a reploid.

After knocking on it, the doors opens and the four were greeted by an army of maid and butlers. "Damn, she hasn't changed a bit." Netto muttered to himself, as he and his friends, except Enzan, sweatdropped seeing Yaito made quite a grand welcome cue.

One of the maids, escort the two siblings to the dining room where Yaito and the gang are waiting. When they reached the room, the group is surprise on what they are seeing… Yaito had invited her and Netto's friends along with a certain teacher, a rare chip otaku and a fish man.

"I… I think, I'll go…" Netto said, trying to find an escape route.

"No, you're not." Sora said, as she grabs Netto's arm and drags him in.

"Huh?" The fish man said, "Oh! Hey, Sora's here!"

"Hey guys." Sora greeted. "Man, it's good to back."

"Yep, and as a welcome gift, here some fish." The fish man said, handing her a box full of salmon and tuna.

"Errr… thanks, Masa-san… I guess." Sora said, as she places the box down for a while and looks around. But all of the sudden, the rare chip otaku, Higure, holds her hand and is crying quite dramatically as he give Sora's welcome back gift: a Paladin Sword Chip. After thanking him, getting her hand back and avoiding his dandruffs, the teacher, Mariko-sensei, welcomes her back with relief. Even though, Sora only attended a year in Mariko's class, she made sure that Sora is educated and safe despite the fact that she was selected to be Netto's replacement and Laika's partner. She then notices her and Netto's friends, but one of them is Sora's rival

The first one is Yaito, and she gain height ever since Netto last saw her and only reaches to Sora's ear. She is no longer sporting a pair of braided pigtails, instead her hair is half tied and the other half is loose. She wears a red, sleeveless dress with a similar design of her old dress. "Sora-chan, I'm glad that you made it back." Yaito said with a smile, giving Sora a hug.

"Hee… thanks Yai-chan." Sora said, smiling a bit and hugs back. She and Yaito became friends on the day the cruise liner was hijack by a group of terrorist that uses viruses. Fortunately for the passengers, the Net Saviours were there but the terrorist main targets are the heir and heiress of rich companies. And despite Yaito never like the female Net Saviour, Sora still protected her till Enzan and Laika manages to get the ship back and arrested the terrorist. Since then she and Sora were slowly becoming closer and they become officially friends.

Then Tohru came next, and he too grown on height, about the same height as Sora. He wears the black Japanese high school uniform. "Welcome back, Sora-kun." Tohru said.

"Thanks, Tohru-kun." She said.

Next is Dekao and he grew taller than Axl's current height by a few inches. He wore a yellow and green shirt, black, baggy shorts with a lot of pockets, green socks and black sneakers with some yellow stripes on it. "Sora, I'm so glad that you're back… but who's this guy?" Dekao asked, pointing at Axl.

"Ehe, he's a friend of ours…" Sora said, with a smile.

"Really?" Yaito asked, looking that the orange haired teen closer. "But I haven't met him before."

"Me either." Tohru said, looking at Axl strangely.

"Maybe, I should explain this… somehow." Sora said, then to her surprise the last person came up to her and slapped her at the cheeks.

"Meiru-chan! You shouldn't do that!" Yaito shouts at her friend, as Sora touch the red mark on her face and Netto stared at his childhood friend.

"Its okay, Yaito-chan." Sora said, then looks at Meiru.

Meiru has changes a lot since 'Netto's death', she and Sora are about the same height and also her hair grew longer it almost reaches her waist. She is wearing a black, spaghetti strap top that shows a bit of he stomach, black mini skirt with a pink streak running on the side, pink fishnet stocking and black high-heel boots. She also has make-up and accessories. (1)

'She is Meiru… it can't be.' Netto thought.

"Meiru, I told you for the millionth time, I didn't do anything wrong." Sora said, looking at Meiru straightly by the eyes.

"Yes you did!" Meiru shouts, slapping Sora again on the face. This time it is a bit stronger and literally forced her down on the floor by her butt. "You stole Netto's life!" (2)

"How can I steal his life?! Girl, I never wanted to be a Net Saviour three years ago, but because of my family, I have to go here." Sora said, rubbing her butt.

"Liar!" Meiru shouts, and is about to slap her again when Netto quickly blocks her. "What?!" she said in surprise.

"Stop it." Netto said, the he turns around and helps his sister up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… Although, I might feel this in my sleep." Sora said, taking his hand and stands up. _"Are you ready to face them, Netto-kun?" _she asked.

"… _Yeah… I'm ready, sis." _Netto said, and looks at his old friends and took a deep breath.

"Guys, this is an old friend of ours, and his name is Netto." Sora said, placing a hand on Netto's shoulder and is smiling a bit.

"What are you taking me for? A fool? Everyone knows that Netto is dead, and if he is alive, his hair and eyes should be brown." Meiru spat, looking at Netto angrily.

"Meiru… I can't believe you… you've really changed a lot. What happen to the sweet and caring Meiru I've known long ago?" Netto said, and Meiru gaped slightly. He then began telling the others about their memory together, and that gave everyone a shock. And when Rockman confirms that he is Netto, they overjoyed and gave him a hug except for Meiru. Sora saw her left with guilt in her eyes, but then she gave Sora a glare when she saw her looking.

As she sighs. "Well, this might take a while for Meiru." Sora said, scratching the back of her head.

"I guess so…" Rouge said, appearing on her NetOp shoulder. "At least everyone is happy that Netto return." Looking at Netto who being pat by the back by Masa, but in the end got a sore hand. "But they might take time of getting used on Netto's new metallic body." She added, noticing that not only Masa has a sore hand but Higure and Dekao also.

"You got that right, Rouge." Sora said, and then she told the others to sit down and listen to their story.

(Meanwhile… In the Cyberworld)

Forte is floating in the dark when a cloaked figure appeared right in front of him. (3)

"You…" the cloaked figure said.

"Hmmm?" Forte answered, and it the only thing he said before he was suck into a void.

"A war shall start soon…but first she must first pass this trial…" he said, looking behind him and his eyes narrowed by the sight of Sigma, his followers and a sexy woman with a huge fan on her back. He then left without anyone noticing, and Sigma and the woman shook hands.

"Why in the world would you make a deal with that woman?" Launch Octopus asked, for he is sensing an aura that would make him hate her as she left.

"That's because she gave me valuable information, and with it, I shall able to control both worlds and none of those pesky Maverick Hunter can stop me." Sigma said, as he laughs evilly in the Uranet. Unknown to him, the woman smirked as she travels to the darkest part of the parallel universe.

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Hibari: Okay, it finally over! Phew! Typing is so boring! This is supposed to be Ann's job!!!

Marika: "appearing out of nowhere" Okay… cool down little miss spitfire.

Hibari: Right, whatever… How is Hikari doing?

Marika: She has gone hyper again…

Hibari: What?! How?!

Marika: She got three PSPs this summer… "Hibari anime fall" For more information, please see the next chapter… oh and don't forget to read and review.

1. Anyone mind for Meiru-bashing? …No offense for Meiru fans, but I never like that pink headed girl. : P

2. I suddenly thought of an idea and gave is role to Meiru, and for the Meiru fans… don't kill me, because in the future chapters, she'll be going, going, going, going and gone… if you know what I mean.

3. Yeah, I decided to give Forte a very small role in this fic, you'll find out why in the sequel.

P.S. I notice that there are few misspelled word in chapter 16 and 17, so I've fixed them.


	19. Maverick Virus Busting!

Connected Hearts – Maverick Virus Busting!

Silver-Blue: Hey, I'm having trouble and I'll update only this for a while…

Hibari: What's going on?

Silver-Blue: Apparently, college is back and I'm busy in school work! … And some wise-guy hacked into my account too…

Marika: Someone hacked into your account?!

Silver-Blue: Yes… and a certain classmate of mine is investigating it. I doubt that she can break the case though. So I followed her advice and change my penname and so… Anyway, here's the chapter and enjoy, for the reviewers:

jhvh777: Well… I got the first one from my parents during the summer, and all of the sudden, my aunt in Seattle and uncle in San Francisco sent me a pair of PSPs Oo! Anyway, I gave one to my brother and hid the third one, just in case my current PSP is stolen.

Blue Star Sapphire: Yep, I finally decided to pop Forte in the series, but this will be his final appearance till the sequel… so treasure it while it last XD!

Slayer.EXE: You'll see in this chapter… and you just gave me an idea! Thank you! "Goes off to murder Meiru… Joke!"

Yami Amy Lau: I'm glad you like the car door joke, I was like thinking of transportation that will bring Netto and Sora home with a bit of chaos… then I thought about Enzan's limo… What could be a better way to transport and ruin a day at the same time, by breaking Enzan's car door? I know I do ;D

(Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Rockman.exe or MMX, if I do I would've found a way to make Vile into a pile of junk! XD!)

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Maverick Virus Busting!

A month after Netto's and Sora's comeback, the New Generation Reploid is napping on the fresh green grass of the park. For once, he felt relaxed than back in his world, which disappoints him a bit since he is a highly trained hunter.

And then frowns... as he sat up, he worries about X, Zero and the others back in Reploidian. 'I wonder how X and Zero are doing...? Zero is probably killing off a lot of mavericks to avenge us since we disappeared… and X is probably trying to calm him down.' Netto thought, he chuckles about it and then he looks at the sky and sighs.

He is confused now…

He was born in this world along with his sister and brother, but his feelings are telling him to go back to the world where his other friends… his other family are living in. Ever since Netto became a reploid, he had a difficult time accepting and living the fact that his family or friends don't exist… also he learned the history in the other world is different than his home, which made him safely confirmed that he is in a parallel world. But as time passed, Netto AKA Axl slowly accepted the fact that he's no longer human and finding his way home was slim, but he decided to support X and Zero on fulfilling the dream that reploids and humans can lived in peace.

…Until his sister, Sora and her navi, Rouge, came and by chain of events found their way home.

As he walks out of the grass, Sora suddenly came and glomps on her brother. "Hey there, Net!" Sora said cheerfully, as Netto fell on his butt and she landed quickly on her feet.

"Ow! Sora, will you stop that!" Netto said, as he stood up and grumbles about pesky sisters. Although he is a reploid, his sister has natural nanobots in her body giving her quick healing and incredible strength (that only works on reploids). And he found it every annoying… considering a human tackled a reploid that is twice or thrice heavy than her.

"Hee… sorry." She said and the siblings walked together to their home.

"Hey Sora, can you tell me how Zero.exe got deleted?" Netto asked and his sister slightly tense mentioning Zero's counterpart.

"That's a long story…you don't mind we talk about this at home will you?" Sora asked.

"Why? What's wrong with…?" But he got cut off when he notices the depression in his sister's eyes. "… Sure…" He replied, then their PET rang and they both answered it.

"Oi, oi, have you forgotten to deliver the files to dad?" Rouge asked, appearing with the hands on her hips, so did Rockman.

"Same goes to you Netto-kun." Rockman said… Then…

"By the way, why do you call our dad, papa? Are you gay?" Rouge asked quite directly, and Rockman totally flinch on that.

"No, I'm not!" Rockman said firmly.

"Come to think of it, you also call dad, papa." Sora said, looking at Netto.

"That's because it's the first thing I said when I was 2 or 3." Netto said, crossing his arms and looking back at Netto. While the two siblings have a staring contest, Rouge is teasing Rockman that he's gay for calling their father, papa. After an hour of sibling staring contest, the two quickly heads off to SciLab to deliver the files to their father.

By the time they reached SciLab, Sora glared at almost every scientist she sees… and here's why…

Three weeks ago, Netto was recruited back in Net Saviours and went to SciLab to visit his father, but that was a big mistake... A few days later, he was ambush by a horde of scientists and engineers, who want to examine him and 'have a look inside'. He thanked his lucky stars when his father and his sister came and helped him out, he also noted that his sister is quite scary when she's angry… especially with a buster pistol in her hand. Plus, it took Sora two weeks to reattach his left hand, with a little guidance from Zero's blueprints she stored in her PET.

As they make way to the elevator, they were greeted by a familiar voice. "Sora!" a feminine voice shouts, and the brunette turns around to see Madoi. After she and Sora had a few net battles, Madoi decided to try out being a Net Saviour and is doing a good job of it.

"Hey there, Madoi-san… so how's your mission in Jawaii?" Sora asked.

"It's very… boring, but at least I can help. Wait… is this the guy who I think it is?" Madoi asked, pointing at Netto.

"Errr…" Netto said nervously.

"Oh my god! What they said is true! You are back, Netto!" Madoi said loudly and tries to hug Netto but to be only trip by him and landed face first on the floor.

"Whoops… my bad." Netto said, helping her out. After the eventful meeting, Madoi heads off to her office to finish her report before deadline and the Hikari siblings continued their way to their father's office.

As Yuuichiro finished reassembling a few parts, he heard a knock on the door and removes his goggles. "Come in." he said.

"Hey dad/papa." The two siblings said, before Sora and Rouge suddenly went green-minded and snickered at the thought. As her brothers glared at her, she quickly gave the file to her father.

"Thank you, Sora. Oh and you don't mind staying for a while?" Yuuichiro asked, and the two nodded. While waiting for their father to finish whatever he is doing…

"Hey, you don't mind telling me what happened to Zero's counterpart?" Netto asked, and Sora sighs.

"…Okay, but promise not to freak out or anything?" Sora said and Netto nodded. "Okay, Zero.exe was an advance virus, made out of the cyberbeast's data. He used to be our enemy but suddenly turn the tables when he got a desire to experience companionship. When Rockman spotted him during a short Zero Virus outbreak, he thought of him as an ordinary navi and tries to save him."

Then Netto gave Rockman a look, and the little blue navi just shrugs. "Hey, you kept Zero's identity a secret." Rockman said.

"That's because we wanted to do our jobs on our own, and besides you need to relax from the Cyberbeast war." Sora said.

"Anyway, she kept Zero.exe in our computer for a week before she heads to SciLab, so dad can turn him into an official navi." Rouge said, crossing her arms. "But the Net Saviour HQ got under attack by another Zero." She added.

"Right… the wack who called himself "the Professor" created the clone and called the fake, Zero One.exe. The heartless clone did numbers on the Net Saviour's network, and Rouge, Blues and Searchman tried to stop him. But that copy actually beats the data out of them, then Zero.exe shouts from the spare PET I have in my pocket. I allowed him to battle his copy if only he can come back alive, and he agreed… but Zero sacrificed himself to save us from destruction, by substantiates both himself and Zero One near the Professor's airship." Sora said.

"The only thing that was left from him is the battle chip containing the virus, so dad can analyze and cure the infected navis." Rouge said. "Which turns out to be a second funeral…"

"Second?" Rockman asked.

"After three years and crossing dimension, I got to meet him again… It was around the time when Zero-sempai was rough on the newbies and mavericks. Rouge managed to find the files containing Zero's blueprints, plans and his creator's journal." Sora said.

"So you know who's Zero's creator is?" Netto said.

"Yep… and it's Wily." Sora said, and then she heard a loud thud and notices that her brother fell off the chair with a surprise look etched on his face.

"W-wily?! That wack created Zero?!" Netto asked, as Sora shrugs his reaction off and helps him up.

"Will you cool down? Besides the fact that Wily created Zero-sempai, it's not the same Wily who fought with when you were human." Sora reminded her brother, and he apologizes.

"Anyway, she also found out that Zero was built to destroy Megaman and X… and don't even think about speaking." Rouge said, and Sora quickly covers his mouth before he babbles about Zero wouldn't do that. "Thank you, and then when Sigma beat Zero in the ruins, the virus was transferred to Sigma, and Zero turned into a normal reploid."

"Right, but there are 2 programs left behind… his 'killer program' and the shut down virus factory. It kinda sits in Zero-sempai's system, waiting for the virus factory to be reactivated." Sora said, then explains how she, Rouge and Zero.exe destroyed the factory, beat the Red Demon and Zero.exe's final seconds in existence.

Then Yuuichiro came with a tray on his arm and on it were their guns. "Okay… It's done." He said.

"Dad… what did you do to our guns?" Sora asked, as both siblings gave him the look. And then grabs them quickly to check if their weapons are in one piece, and it seems that their guns are safe till Sora notices the little switch on the hilt of her gun.

"Dad, what's this?" Sora asked, pointing at the tiny switch on the hilt and Netto also notices he has one each on his pair of guns.

"Oh that, let me show you." Yuuichiro said and told them to follow him to the training area, where the Net Saviours were training.

"I've carefully studied your guns and made a slight modification on it." Yuuichiro said, as they entered the training room. He took a laptop and a can from a table, and set the can on another table and held on the laptop. "Netto, you don't mind shooting that off?" he asked

"Sure…" Netto said, and uses his gun to shoot the can off the table. Then Yuuichiro places another can and told Netto to shoot it again, but this time the shoot went thru and only made a tiny hole in the middle of the can. "Huh?" Netto said out of surprise.

"Is that can made out of data?" Rouge asked, looking at the can.

"Yes, it is." Yuuichiro said. "Okay, now use the switch I installed in your gun." He instructed, and Netto uses the switch and again shoots at the can… this time, it hits and got deleted.

"Hey! It got deleted!" Rockman said.

"That's right; I added a device in your guns so it can convert the plasma energy into data shots." Yuuichiro said. "The downside, it's limited… so if you overused it, the gun will automatically shut itself down to re-energize."

"Cool… so how many data shots can we use, and how long will this re-charge? And how come plasma shots don't work on the Renegades, viruses, and net navis?" Netto asked.

"About 150 shots and it will take 3 hours for it to fully recharge. And somehow, they can absorb energy and recover fast, but they do get damage but only a little." Yuuichiro answered.

"But does that mean cross fusion is no longer necessary?" Sora asked.

"Well… It is still necessary. Even if you have weapons that can convert energy into data, the person is pretty much vulnerable and defenseless from the navi's attack… Let's just say, that you're attacking an enemy without any armors on." Yuuichiro said. "And speaking of cross fusion, I found the data in the chip very similar to Netto's main frame system and the chip's rare metal is strange."

"Really…?" Sora said, as Netto sends his guns back in subspace and told him all about the Force Metal. After their father explains the reploid's system and the similarity to the data in the chip, the siblings decided to head home early since there is nothing to do. And to avoid the engineers and scientist who all wanted to disassemble Netto. As they walked, Sora remembers something and fished out a chip from her pocket.

"Here." Sora said, giving it to Netto.

"What's this?" Netto asked.

"It's a Spider Soul chip, Rouge became quite immune to it… so I'm giving it to you and Rockman." Sora said.

"But Spider is our enemy and where did you get this?" Netto asked, looking slightly angry to his sister, but his sister turns around and is too slightly angry

"First of all, Spider is no traitor… he was murdered by that Redips guy to get his DNA, and I saved him before his core program shut down. And second, I got that from Spider… I turned him into a net navi and when I went after you guys, I met Ferham and we kinda got together for a short while." Sora said.

"A very short while, indeed." Rouge added.

"Then we got ourselves in a trap and I plug-in the three net navis in to unlock the door, but Fehram left us fending off the walls of doom." Sora said, chuckling a little. "Then someone tried to shoot Rouge behind, and Spider took it. He decided to give up his second chance of living and his chance to prove that Redips murder him, just to save Rouge."

"I… I didn't know." Netto said.

"After that, I decided to keep the whole thing secret… after all, no one will believe a human, ne?" Sora said, and looks at the sky then back that her brother. "You know, I just realize a few things a few days ago… you reploids are no different to us."

"That's because we're built like that." Netto said.

"True, but that's not it… Haven't you noticing anything? Reploids and Mavericks are no different." Sora said. "I know mavericks are reploids infected by a virus, that can be easily deleted, but there are some that went maverick by their own will. Like us, when we decided to commit crimes, we do it by our own will, not by a crazy virus."

"But human and reploids are different." Netto said.

"But reploids have free-will like us, what's the difference in that? The only difference I see is your body is made out of metal and wires, and I know you could make a mince meat out of me with that!" Sora exclaimed.

"That's the whole point!" Netto shouts back.

"Point?! What point?! You realize that you were once a human and it proves that humans and reploids are no different! And are you accepting the fact that you and I are different, despite the fact we're brother and sister?" Sora asked.

"No! I-I… I just don't want to see anyone hurt." Netto said.

"… Axl, I'm a highly trained Net Saviour, heck I'm even a Maverick Hunter, everything is going to be okay, and no one will get hurt." Sora said, placing her hands on his shoulder and smiled. So did her brother and the two heads home…

(Meanwhile… in Reploidian, in another version of Uranet.)

Forte woke up and notices that he is in a server; he looks around before diving into the net to find out where he is… only to be captured by a weird force and bought him to an unknown server…

What's going to happen to him now…?

(Meanwhile… in Cybertronic)

Somewhere… Deep in the Uranet… lies a mysterious yet new server… and in there is a fortress with a weird E shaped symbol etch on the top of its gate.

This is where Sigma lives along with his followers

"Get ready to strike and show those humans who is the rightful leader of this world." Sigma said, as an elephant bowed down and left to do what he was ordered.

(Back in the neighbourhood… around 2 a.m.)

As the whole neighbourhood slept in peacefully thru the night, the earth slightly shook causing to wake Sora up. "What was that?" She said sleepily and got off the bed to look out the window. She gasped loudly on what she saw… a part of the city was on fire and there are a lot of viruses surrounding it. "Damn." She swore and dressed up.

She then took her trench coat and her PET, which jerk Rouge out of sleep by surprise.

"… Sora… What's wrong?" Rouge asked sleepily as she yawns and rubs the sleep off her eyes.

"The city in under attack and we better get there." Sora said, as she ran out of her room and enters Netto's to wake him up. "Netto! Saito!" she shouts.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Rockman asked, rubbing his eyes out of sleep while Netto continues sleeping till Sora literally pushed him off the bed.

"Ow! Sora!" Netto shouts.

"It's an emergency! The viruses are setting the city on fire, we have to go there now!" Sora said, looking out of the window and then their PET rang.

"We know what's going on, Meijin-san." Netto said.

"San wa iranai!" Meijin shouts. "And what did you know?"

"The fire in the city." Netto stated out as he puts his armor online, and then they ran down to the streets.

"We've contact Enzan and Laika and they are going to the scene." Meijin said.

"Great, we'll meet them there, over and out." Sora said, placing their PET on their armlet, and then she summons her Gear while Axl summons his Sirius from his subspace.

"Hey, you got a Chaser?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, every hunter requires an emergency vehicle just in case the transporter broke." Axl said, hopping on his Chaser.

"Do you know how to drive?" Rockman asked.

"Duh…? Saito, didn't I told you that we hunters need it?" Axl asked.

"Yeah, but…" Rockman said.

"Don't worry, I know how." Axl reassured his brother, and kicks his Chaser to life.

"I doubt that." Rockman said, as he and his siblings rode all the way to the city.

(At the city.)

Enzan and Laika have arrived in the city before the Hikari siblings does, but they can't cross fuse yet… if they do it now, Sora and Netto will not be able to enter the Dimensional Area.

As they took turns helping evacuating the people out of harm, someone caught Laika by his coat. "Let go of me!" he snapped.

"Whoa, chill Liki-chan, it's just us." Axl said, as he places Laika on the back seat and Sora scooped up Enzan from the ground. They then landed gently on the ground a few feet away from the battle field… and Rockman is quite shaken from the ride. Rouge notices it and tries to calm the blue navi down.

"It's okay, Rockman… it's all over." Rouge said gently.

"W-w-who t-taught N-ne-netto to-o d-dr-drive li-like that-t?" Rockman stuttered, still shaken from Netto's driving.

"My best bet is Zero-sempai but never mind that for now, we got virus busting to do." Rouge said, and Rockman nodded as he snapped himself out and is back on his feet.

"Okay… Activate the Dimensional Area." Laika called the SciLab. A few seconds later, a crystal-like dome surrounds the area.

"This is so old school" Sora muttered.

"Okay…" Enzan said, taking out his Synchro chip. "Synchro Chip! Slot-in!" Both Enzan and Laika said.

"Synchro Chip ver.2! Slot-in!" Sora said, slotting in the second version of the Synchro Chip.

"CROSS FUSION!" The three Net Saviour and three Net Navis shout, as the lights envelops them. When the lights died, Enzan, Laika and Sora are in their CF form.

"Axl Bullets online!" Axl said, as he summons his guns from the subspace.

"Okay, let's kick some virus' asses back into the Uranet!" CF Rouge said cheerfully and the three Net Saviours ran into battle with Axl tailing behind.

"Saito… even though we can't cross fuse, can you still guide me in battle?" Axl asked, looking gently at his holographic brother on his shoulder.

"Of course… but I'm sure that dad might find a way for us to cross fuse… someday." Rockman said, and Axl smiles and catches up with the others. Upon catching up, he saw a sword and buster synchronization between CF Rouge and CF Blues, which reminds him of X's and Zero's attack formation on some maverick attacks. And CF Searchman shoots off some viruses from the distance.

"Okay… Rockman?" He asked.

"Right, take the ones on your left; they are few but worse than what the others are fighting right now." Rockman said, and Axl nodded and heads there to delete the virus. After deleting the virus and putting out the fire, they regroup and discusses but the virus.

"Have anyone notice something different on the virus?" CF Blues asked.

"Yeah, they have this weird symbol on their heads, like the ones we use in Geometry." CF Searchman said and Axl froze on spot.

'It can't be…' he thought. "… Does it look like a weird-looking letter E?" Axl asked.

"Yes." CF Searchman said, and Axl made a face on it.

"Aw man… this is bad." Axl said, as he looks at his sister.

"Why? What's wrong?" CF Rouge asked.

"Because that symbol is worn by one of my worse enemy, and not just mine but X's and Zero's too." Axl said, and CF Rouge realized what he meant.

"You mean that bald freak is here? In our world?" CF Rouge asked, while Rouge prayed that Sigma is not here. But Axl said yes, and Rouge made an expression about it and CF Rouge felt it. "Aw man…and I thought we won't be seeing that freak again." She said

"Who?" CF Blues asked

"Sigma… He is one of our worst enemies back in Reploidian." Axl said. "He's responsible of the Maverick Virus outbreak for the past 14 years and is the Maverick Leader himself. He also tried to hunt me down because of my Copy Ability, but I manage to notice that something is going on and escape from Red Alert."

Then they suddenly yelped when they felt the earth shook, causing all of them sitting on the floor.

"Ow, ow, I'm going to feel that in the morning" CF Rouge said, rubbing her sore spot. Then a hug fireball was thrown to the dome, it did a lot of damage on it and the Dimensional Area collapsed. Enzan and Laika were diffuse except for CF Rouge.

"Oh shit…" Axl said, as they felt that something huge is coming. And out from the smoke, is an elephant navi and Axl recognizes him. "It's Flame Mammoth……"

"Is he one of X's old enemies?" CF Rouge asked.

"Yes, he is." Axl said, and then grabs both Enzan and Laika by their shirt/coat, and hid them behind a truck.

"What's going on?" Blues asked, popping out of his PET and standing on his master's shoulder.

"Trust us, Blues… you don't want to let your NetOp to fight this fatso without your CF form." Axl said, and ran back to CF Rouge who is ready to fight against the huge Renegade.

"Okay… are you ready, Axl?" CF Rouge asked, looking at her brother, who nodded in returned and faced the Renegade. The elephant renegade stops in front of them, and then laughs on what he is seeing.

"A reploid and a human, how touching…" Flame Mammoth said, and then slams his trunk on one of the building destroying a part of the wall. "But it makes me sick!" he snarled.

"Can't we talk bout this? Yowch!" CF Rouge yelped, when she and Axl both got hit by a large fireball and hits the ground. They then stood up and CF Rouge… looked pissed. "That's it, fatso! You're going down!" she shouts and fires her R-Buster at him, but the shot didn't do much damage and the two jumps away to avoid the fire.

"Hey! Do you realize how long it took us to put your fire out?!" Axl shouts irritatingly, before he evade Mammoth trunk and shot back… but Axl's guns automatically shuts down after shooting 30 times. "Man… this is not my day!" he whined before he got hit and was thrown to the wall.

"Netto! Focus!" Rockman shouts at his brother.

Axl then stood up, grabs a car nearby, and throws it at Flame Mammoth, who's busy fighting Sora and hit!

… But it didn't give the renegade much damage and CF Rouge looks at her brother, with an expression on her face as if she's saying that she got a plan and Axl understood it.

The renegade totally ignored CF Rouge and chases after Axl, and this gave CF Rouge time to use a battle chip that work against Mammoth's element "Aqua Tower! Slot-in!" CF Rouge shouts, as she slams her hand on the ground. A tall tower of water appears out of it and charges at Flame Mammoth, but he notices it and quickly extinguishes it by his fire.

"You think that will stop me?!" Flame Mammoth shouts, but he suddenly felt a sudden and powerful gust of water behind him. He turns around and saw Axl beside a fire hydrant, with its top broken off and Axl is redirecting the water towards the renegade.

"Maybe this can!" Axl shouts smugly, but the renegade shouts in rage and charges right at him. Fortunately, Axl manage to get out of the way before the renegade trips over the fire hydrant and hits the wall. "Sora! Now!" Axl shouts.

"Program Advance! Beta Sword!" CF Rouge shouts, after slotting in the Sword, Wide Sword and Long Sword chips. She released a powerful beam at the renegade, and Flame Mammoth can't avoid it because he's a bit stuck…

All in all, Flame Mammoth is deleted.

"Alright!" Axl shouts cheerfully and ran over to his sister. As she defused, she was greeted by her overjoyed brother and the other two boys.

"That was impressive, Sora." Searchman said who is sitting on Laika's shoulder.

"Impressive… I guess you did everything I taught." Enzan said.

"Actually, Zero did… I mean, you did teach me that, but Zero helped me to improve my sword skills" Sora said.

"Zero? As in Zero.exe?" Blues asked

"No… It's another Zero I met in the other world." Both Sora and Rouge stated out, then they looked at each other, and then to Axl and Rockman and they all sighs. "This stinks… we got another the-guy-who-wanted-to-rule-over-the-world to stop." Rouge said sourly.

"And that's…" Sora said

"Sigma." Axl answered, and Rockman sighs… he thought that he, Sora and Netto along with Rouge can live peacefully as a family…

Guess not.

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Hikari: Yes! It is done! Sorry for the delay folks! Please read and review while I go to sleep… night, night. "Sleeps on the floor."

Hibari: That is what happened when you eat too much sugar and play too much video game. So kids, eat less sugar and get a lot of rest and see you in the next chapter! See ya! Oh! And the hacker who hack in Silver's account is found! Whoopee! I'm going to burn him down. "evil laughs, then looks at you" ... Errr... Bye! "ran off"

PS. I suck in battle scenes... I promise to make it more better in the later chapters... Promise!!!


	20. Just a normal day right?

Connected Hearts – Just a normal day… right?

Silver-Blue: We're back and the Transformer the Movie is awesome! The thing is… why does Jazz have to die?!

Zero: I found it interesting on how they transform

Axl: "transforms into Bumblebee" Hey guys, look at me! "Then transforms into a car" I'm Bumblebee!

Silver-Blue: You can do that?!

Axl: Yeah… why?

Silver-Blue: Never mind… And I kept forgetting Rush in the fic!!! "bangs her head on the wall" Ah well, let's just say Meiru forbids Rush from meeting Sora or some sort. Anyway, enjoy the fic and for the reviewers:

Blue Star Sapphire: "looking at you weirdly"…… I will not say anything.

Zohaku: … That's interesting… a cross fusion of Sora and Axl… but I got a better idea. 

Slayer.EXE: Hey! Don't forget Enzan and Laika! They're also going to cross fuse without the DA right about… "Checks the chapter plan book." … Whoa… Ummm, maybe not on this story… AND I'M NOT GONNA SPOIL YOU!!!

jhvh777: Yep! Now onto the next chapter.

(Disclaimer: YAY! I do own Rockman.exe and MMX! "A lot of lawyers appeared and throws bricks at me." I mean I DO NOT own Rockman.exe or MMX, or its soundtrack… "Faints")

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Just a normal day… right?

A few days after Flame Mammoth's attack, everything almost went back to normal.

"WHHHAAAAATTTTTTTT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Netto screamed bloody murder.

Or not.

"You have got to be kidding me! I can't go to school!" Netto exclaimed.

"Netto, if you wanted to be treated like a human, you have to do what normal human does. Besides, Yuuichiro-kun worked hard to get the governments' approval." Haruka said.

"And to remove your name from the death file." Sora joked as she turns away from the TV, and Netto glares at his sister. "Oh c'mon, don't be such a spoiled sport, Axl"

"But I can't go to school, I'm a reploid!" Netto said.

"And Reploids are built to be as close as human…?" Sora countered, and Netto who couldn't think of any answer, sighs in defeat. "Well, at least you're in the same grade like me, Enzan and Laika." She added.

"What grade are you anyway?" Netto asked.

"Senior, and after that I'm going to take robotics in college." Sora said cheerfully and Netto looks at her.

"Robotics? Are you planning to build a reploid or something?" he asked.

"Somewhat yes." Sora said, and Netto looks at her. "Pffft! Oh come on, at least someone will repair you in case you broke."

"That's right." Rouge said, as Rockman appeared on Netto's shoulder.

"They have some points there, Netto-kun. If you want to live your life like before, you need files, papers and approvals from the government… also you need to act like a normal human. And schools are not that bad and Sora's choice of course can help in your situation." Rockman said as he sat on his brother's shoulder. And Netto sighs, he thought that he's mature enough to skip school.

Guess not.

(A few days later…)

Sora and Netto are walking together to school, and the New Generation Repliod grumble about why do reploids have to be built close as humans. Then Enzan(1) and the boys came, and walk along with them.

"Hey guys." Sora greeted them.

"Hey Sora, and welcome back to school, Netto." Enzan said as he slings his arm around Sora's shoulder and she returned a smile at him.

"Please, will you stop that… you're making me hurl." Netto said… he had to admit that Enzan does love his sister, but a part of him tells him the IPC's vice president is still his rival.

"Yeah right… you'll be also doing this when you got the courage to tell Pallette how you feel." Sora said and Netto trips to the ground.

"Pallette? Who's she?" Tohru asked out of curiosity, as Netto picks himself off the ground and they continue walking.

"His crush back in the other world, she's nice, a bit childish and is great on spotting places that cannot be found by anyone." Sora said.

"Netto… you are so going to be busted when Meiru finds out about that." Dekao said, nudging at Netto's arm.

"Will you cut that out, and she won't that find out… I mean, Pallette is in the other world. By the way, Laika did you do something to your hair?" Netto asked, he notice Laika is sporting a new hair-do, his hair is now little short and spikes up. Then Densan High came into view, the school looks different from elementary, Netto noted, it is a lot wider and has about four floors and it's all white and yellow.

"Sora recommended it and you'll get busted when Meiru does find that out." Laika somewhat teased.

"You know… I'm still wondering what the hell happened to you guys, when I "died" for three years." Netto said sarcastically, looking at them.

"Blame it to your sister." The boys said altogether.

"Hey!" Sora shouts, and chases them all the way to school with her brother tailing behind her.

When they reach the school, they saw Meiru there but she only glares at Sora before she joins another group of girls. Sora muttered something about Plastics being a bunch of prostitutes, luckily the boys didn't heard that when Yaito came. As Dekao and Tohru heads to their respected class, Sora and the others heads to the principal's office to give their excuse letters. And Netto head to the registrar's office to apply…

A few moments later, Sora and the two boys are waiting and Netto came with a folder in his arm. "So how is it, Netto?" Sora asked.

"Not bad, except I have to fake my own medical test… who would want to see a reploid entering a school. And besides, the school nurses might freak out when they discover I'm all metal and wires." Netto said.

"Ooooh… Anyway, what's your schedule?" Sora asked, and Netto gave it to her. When she looked at it, she was surprised. "Netto, you and I have the same classes together." She said.

"Is it a coincidence?" Netto asked.

"More like a chance." Sora snorted, glaring at the two male Net Saviours. "Spill it you two, did you just hack into the school's computer?" she asked.

"It's Meijin-san's order; he wants you to watch over Netto." Laika said, and actually flinch when Sora glared at him.

"At least the both of you can establish a brother-sister relationship." Enzan said, as both Hikari siblings sighs… It's going to be a long day.

(At class…)

"Class, we have a new student today, you may come in now." The teacher said, signalling him to come inside. Netto came in and the whole class began whispering except for Sora, while the teacher wrote his name on the board.

"Whoa… he's such a cutie." One of the female students whispered, unknowing that he heard that with his sharp hearing and blushed.

"What's that thing on his ear?" Another asked, pointing at the white metallic thing, which is actually Netto's ear.

"And where did he get that scar?" A male student asked, looking at Netto's cross-shaped scar with interest.

"Class, this is Netto Alex Hikari, he's a transferee from Kansas. Why don't you say a few things about yourself?" The teacher asked, not noticing a few students have shock faces when they heard his name.

"…Um, hi, I'm Netto, errr… you can also call me, Axl. And this is my net navi, Rockman… and I like net battling and curry." Netto said a bit shyly, as the whole class looked at him.

"Okay… Netto, you may sit beside… Sora, she's on the third row, near the window." The teacher said, Netto nodded and is relieve that his sister is beside him.

After a few classes is lunch time, and Netto, Sora and the gang got together and eat on the roof, and sometime some of their classmates would ask Netto about the former hero of Densan City. And Netto would answer… "Really? He has the same name as mine?" before the student left to eat their lunch, thinking that Netto is a different person. Then he and his friends talk and chat about Netto's new home and how different it is from theirs, and they sometimes laugh when they heard that the Hikari siblings were pranking the Repliodian's greatest heroes… namely X and Zero.

Then classes were resumed and the two heads for gym class, which they accelerated on…

Hey, they did train themselves under the two heroes of the Maverick War.

Then the day ends and the gang head for the arcade to have some fun, except for Enzan who have a business to run and Laika who has paperwork to do.

Moments later, they head home with Netto feeling a little guilty since he broke the joystick in a fighting game. "Geez, don't worry about it… Yaito paid for it." Sora said, hoping to get the uneasiness off her brother's shoulder. Upon reaching home, Netto slumped himself on the couch, as Sora ran up to her room to recharge her PET, to get something and then ran back down.

"Hey Axl, here." Sora said, giving it to her brother.

"You're giving me an electric guitar?" Netto asked, looking at his sister weirdly.

"Well… mom mentioned that you occasionally play a guitar when you were once a human, so I'm giving a new yet louder one." Sora said. "Hold on." She added before she ran back to her room getting her own electric guitar and a stereo, and ran back.

"How many of these do you own?" Netto asked, noticing that she have another one..

"Just five… actually four, the fifth one is broken." Sora said setting up the stereo. Then they played, at first, Netto was playing poorly since it's been a along time since he last played a guitar. But after Sora pointed out a few things, he began to play well and they began to sing, not caring if their mom or dad is listening. Unknown to them… a symbol is glowing on each of them…

"_Wasurenai yo kyou mo ashita mo hikari todoku basho no naka"_  
_("Don't forget, today and tomorrow, while in the place filled with light")_  
Netto, Sora and Rockman sang

_Shiranakatta koto o ima hitotsu oboeteyukou yo  
Isshonara sou  
("The things we didn't know are what we're remembering now, one-by-one__  
__since we're together")__  
_ Netto sang

_Mitakotononai basho kirihiraite yuku  
Chiisana bouken mitai  
("__We're clearing places we haven't seen before__  
__like small adventures") __  
_Rockman sang

_Hora, soko ni mo yume ga ochiteru  
("Look, there are dreams that are falling")_  
Netto, Sora and Rockman sang

_Kimi no tonari ni  
Niji no mukou ni  
("__With you beside me __  
__We'll go beyond the rainbow") __  
_Sora sang(2)

TOINK!

"… Um… whoops, I broke a string." Netto said sheepishly, before setting the guitar down on the floor.

"Man… I can't believe you still got the voice, and it improved a lot!" Sora commented as she sat back on the couch, and watch how her mechanical brother blush. "You too, Rockman" she added, as the blue net navi blushed too.

"Thanks, little sis." Netto said, and Sora kinda anime fall.

"Little sis?!" Sora exclaimed. "Oh no… I'm not going to be the youngest one in the family!"

"Well, I don't want to be the youngest too!" Netto countered. "And besides, you're quite stubborn when I first met you back in the other world."

"Hey, I'm just curious." Sora said.

"Yeah… and curiosity killed the cat." Netto stated out.

"Oh spoot… I only wanted to test a few... errr… machinery in the other world." Sora said.

"That was a lame excuse." Netto said, crossing his arms.

"…Well, what about you? Whenever we go on a mission you always asked for candy!" Sora stated out.

"Hey, I need some sugar to get me going." Netto said.

"Right… and I thought you need motor oil to keep you going." Sora said sarcastically, the two continued to argue about who is youngest till Rockman was on his limits.

"Will you guys stop!" Rockman shouts, but they did not hear him and continues to bicker, till… "STOP IT! RIGHT NOW!" Rockman shouts sternly at them. The two stops to cover their ears, and then rub them to stop ringing.

"Geez… can't you two get along and mature a bit?" Rockman asked, looking at his two younger siblings and rubs his forehead to get rid of the headache.

"Sorry." The two said, as Yuuichiro came out of his lab, a shadow of some sort suddenly came rushing in and jumps on Netto.

"Rush! Mind getting off me?" Netto said, as he chuckles at the digital dog, which barks happily at the New Generation Reploid and tries to lick his face. "Whoa! Sit boy!" Netto yelped happily, and got the happy dog off him.

"Aaawww… he's sweet." Sora said, as she pets Rush on the head.

"He really misses you, Netto." Yuuichiro said. "And what is that noise about?" he asked.

"They've been arguing a while to find out who's the youngest in the family." Rockman said, as Sora and Netto looked at their older brother.

"Well… to be honest, Sora is the middle child which makes Netto the youngest one in the family." Yuuichiro said, and Netto's mouth dropped while Sora grins.

"Yes! Now you have to call me nee-chan or big sis!" Sora said cheerfully.

"I don't believe this… I'm the youngest…" Netto said, a bit shock to find out. "And nee-chan and sis are just fine." He added.

'At least a problem is solved.' Rockman thought, as they continue with their daily routine.

(The next day)

The Net Saviours, Sora, Netto, Enzan and Laika were called for a meeting in SciLab, to discuss about the new cross fusion Sora is currently using. Apparently there's a problem…

"Is everyone here?" Meijin asked.

"Yep, we're all here, Meijin-san." Sora said.

"San wa iranai!" Meijin countered, before he clears his throat. "Anyway, I assume you all know about the second version of the Synchro Chip."

"Yeah, so what about it?" Netto asked.

"There are a few problems about it." Meijin asked.

"What problems?" Rouge asked who is sitting on Sora's shoulder.

"Sora, have you encounters problems on these chips?" Meijin asked.

"Well… when I first use it, it kinda drained my energy and I start to notice that my PET was starting to act weirdly. So I have to plug Rouge into a computer, in order to repair my PET." Sora confessed.

"Right, but I didn't shock you or anything?" Meijin asked.

"No…" Sora said.

"I see… probably of your nanobots in your body…" Meijin said.

"Excuse me, but what's going on?" Laika asked, snapping Meijin out of trace.

"Well… when we tested it on one of our volunteers, he started to yell in pain and we manage to get him out of the new cross fusion. Strangely, he began to mutter something about humans being insignificant insects, and reploids must rule them over." Meijin said, and Netto's eyes widens.

"… Mind if I check the data of the new Synchro Chip?" Netto asked immediately and Meijin nodded. He handed his laptop to Netto and he saw something in the data.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

"The data similar to mine is incomplete… and is not stable." Netto said, as he notices a few things that are not similar to his or in a reploid's system.

"But how come Sora can use it?" Enzan asked

"Sora has natural nanobots in her body. It helps stabilize the data and balance it, allowing her to perform the new cross fusion without much of a problem except for the PET's system… lets just say, she as something to stabilize the chip's DA program and the data." Netto said, and everyone looks at him. "What?"

"… Never mind, so only she can perform the new cross fusion?" Laika asked, pointing at Sora.

"Somewhat yes, till we find out how to stabilize the data and allows the two of you to perform the new cross fusion." Netto said.

"Is it me or are you starting to turn smart?" Rouge asked.

"Hey, don't blame me; Red dumped practically anything in my mind." Netto said.

Then the alarm went off. "Another virus attack." Searchman said, and they all rush to the command center. Upon arriving, they met up with Kifune, Manabe and Yuuichiro, whose looking at the screen.

"What's the emergency?" Laika asked, looking at the screen and saw a strange blur is rampaging across the city.

"There is something unknown attacking in the city and is head for SciLab." Manabe said in alert. "We already evacuated the worker, but we couldn't identify what that thing is."

But unknown to them, Netto suddenly tense to the fact that what he saw is very familiar.

"_Not good." _Netto said thru his mind link.

"_What's wrong?"_ Both Sora and Rockman asked.

"_That thing… is a maverick I encounter during the 8__th__ Maverick Uprising…" _Netto said.

"_Oh spoot…" _Sora said, as Rockman agrees with her. "Dad, we got a problem."

"What is it?" Yuuichiro asked.

"I don't think that thing is a virus or a Darkloid." She stated out.

"It's a maverick…" Netto said, as he turns his armor on. "I want everyone to stay here, Sora and I can handle this." He said commandingly.

"But we can help you." Enzan said, but nearly flinch when he saw something in Netto's eyes. It was not the look one would see in the eyes of an innocent teenager, but rather something that you could see in the eyes of hardened soldiers. By that, he was left to wonder on what happened to him and followed his instructions, while he and his sister ran outside.

"He's… different now… What happened to him?" Enzan asked.

Meanwhile, Sora in her CF form (the new one) and Axl, along with Rockman, ran to the gate and prepares themselves on the oncoming maverick. "Ready?" Axl asked.

"Yep! I am ready to kick that rust-bucket back into the scrap heaps!" CF Rouge said with much excitement, which made Axl to look at her weirdly. "What?" she asked.

"Never mind…" he said, then notices the shadow of the maverick, with a few round lights attach on it. "Here it comes!" Axl said, as he summons his Axl Bullets while CF Rouge summons her Rouge's Chain.

The maverick came; it is a crab-like mechaniloid that Axl and his friends beaten on the beginning of the 8th Maverick Uprising. It looks around and saw the two Net Saviours, it went berserk and tries to run them over. But the two jumps away and began shooting at it.

"Aw man… I can't believe its déjà vu, this is a nightmare!" Axl exclaimed.

"Huh?" CF Rouge asked, as she throws her chain at the mechaniloid, damaging only its backside. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Sigma, is the worst maverick we encounter in our entire life! He kept coming back and he won't stay dead!" Axl shouts, as he jumps over the mechaniloids claw and shoots at the head. "He is like a weed in the garden that kept growing back, no matter how you cut it!"

"Unless you remove the weed with the root on it." CF Rouge said, as she uses her R-Buster and charge up. "Power Charge!" She shouts, and release a charge shot at the maverick. She then slot-in her Heat Blade and then charges at the maverick, slashing off one of its claws. But she got caught by the second claw and tries to snap her in two, but her nanobots are strengthening her so she can hang on.(3)

"Sora!" Both Axl and Rockman shout. "Hang on! I'm coming!" Axl shouts.

He charges at the mechaniloid and jumps on its leg, then he climbs on its back and began shooting at it. The mechaniloid tries to shake the hunter off his back, but Axl holds on tightly and continues to shoot. Finally it releases CF Rouge to reach the pest but he's quick and landed beside his sister. She gave her brother a look tha says: I'm all right, and then she uses her ARMOR Change and transform into her Hawk Armor. She then grabs her brother and flew into the air.

"3, 2, 1…" Axl said.

"Bombs away!" CF Rouge said, and drops Axl right above the mechaniloid with a bazooka in his hands.

BOOM!

He manages to shoot at his back, but the mechaniloid is still moving. "Something is wrong here." Axl said. "Usually we beat this thing down in a few minutes."

"Yeah… I wonder…" CF Rouge said and takes a good look at the mechaniloid. "Whoa… this thing is made out of force metal."

"What?! Okay… Sigma is officially the most no good, annoying fruitloop I have ever met aside from Wily!" Axl said. "I mean he wants to rule over the world by massacring people… humans mostly!"

"… Netto-kun, we already know that you hate the guy." Rockman said, as CF Rouge looks at her brother strangely.

After a random outburst from Axl, the mechaniloid is destroyed when Axl uses his bazooka and CF Rouge uses her Aero Blade at the same time on the maverick. Then they examine its armor and then rip it off, to find out where it came from.

"I wonder where did he gets all these?" CF Rouge said, as she defuses and Axl reverted back into his civilian form.

"Yeah… I want to know that too." Rockman said, as he looks at the force metal.

"…Maybe, is it because of those huge, metal boxes that were sucked in the void when we last battled Sigma?" Rouge suggested. "I mean, those things must've contained something."

"Maybe… and he is the only one who knows about reploid and mechaniloid schematics, other than me and Sora." Netto said.

"Then that means… he's probably building an army of mavericks to take over our home." Sora said. "And we're the only Maverick Hunters here… and we don't even know how to get back-up too."

"Dang it!" Netto swore and punches the wall as if he is punching paper. "If only X and Zero are here."

"…Wait… why don't we ask dad about the Dimensional Breaker?" Rockman asked, the siblings look at each other and nodded, then they ran back into SciLab. After confirming Commissioner Kifune that the maverick is destroyed, Sora and Netto talks privately with their father about the Dimensional Breaker.

"I see… but unfortunately, I can't make the machine working… not at least we get a new engine and some materials to stabilize the rip than what happen last time." Yuuichiro said.

"So how long will it get fix?" Netto asked, because the materials are not a problem since they can either ask Yaito or Enzan to support the "financial problem".

"I think in… few months." Yuuichiro answered, and the two sighs.

"Now what?" Netto asked, looking at his sister

"Let's just hope that we can hold long enough till dad manages to fix it." Sora said, looking back at her brother.

"Whoopee-do, this is going to be a lot of fun." Netto said sarcastically, they then heads home to rest for school tomorrow, while their father works late a night in SciLab.

But… he cannot help wondering one thing: X.

'X… where did I heard that before… certainly not Program X.' Yuuichiro thought and began to scan the net on anything about it. And… he found it… in his father's old files and it is entitled:

Prototype X.exe

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Silver: HOLY COW! X got a counterpart! But whatever happened to X's counterpart?

Spoiler: Oh! Oh! Oh! I know! I know! I know! He- "all of the sudden, Silver jumps on him and beats him up with a bloody mallet of DOOM! Dun, dun, dun, duuun!"

Silver: Shut up! You, spoiler you! "Still beating the spoiler"

Hibari: … NO comments, just read and review folks. See you in the next chapter, bye.

1. Let's just say, the boys have a change of heart.

2. The lyrics were typed in a site called Rockman.exe Online, if you want the lyrics, go there... And I do not own the ending theme of Rockman.exe Axess

3. Okay, on Sora's nanobots... they were programed to kinda lift reploids about X's, Zero's or Axl's height... but when it comes to bigger robot, she instead gain a strength of a normal reploid... nuff' said


	21. Prototype X exe and Rouge pt 1

Connected Hearts – Prototype X.exe and Rouge part 1

Silver-Blue: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M NOT DEAD YET!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hibari: Okay… who is dumb enough to feed Silver sugar, again?!

Sigma: … I did?

Crickets: Chirp, chirp…

Hibari: Die! Siggy! Die! "Transforms into a dragon and chases Sigma."

Silver: FOR THEEE REVIEWEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

Zohaku: Yeah, many things can happen on our heroine, but you have to wait… WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

jhvh777: No… not really… just read this chapter to find out… YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

(Disclaimer: Hey! I'm the new disclaimer guy! The old one was sent in jail for proclaiming she owns it… Anyway, Silver- Blue Firebird does not own Rockman.exe or MMX.)

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Prototype X.exe and Rouge part 1

A few days later…

"Fetch Rush!" Netto shouts as he threw a ball and landed a few meter from him, unfortunately Rush just yawns and disappeared back into the net. And he made a face on it.

"I don't think Rush likes that game." Sora said, as she came out of the house, her long, brown hair is loose, her brother noted, and is carrying a pair of plates with curry and rice. She gave one to Netto, and then sat down on their front yard. As they eat…

"So… what do you think Siggy will do now?" Sora asked.

"Siggy?" Netto asked, looking at his sister.

"I meant Sigma." She replied, and Netto burst into laughter.

"You gave him a nickname?" he asked, and continues to laugh.

"Sora… you shouldn't mock your enemies like that, who knows what kind of scheme he might pull off this time." Rouge said, appearing out of her PET.

"Rouge's right, we should all watch our backs." Rockman said, who also appeared from his PET, and then their PET rang.

"Hai, Net Saviour Sora and Netto, what's up?" Sora answered.

"We have another meeting today concerning the new cross fusion." Meijin said from the screen.

"Ok, we'll be there in a jiffy, Meijin-san." Netto said.

"San wa iranai!" Meijin snaps and closes the video link. After finishing their curry, Sora and Netto skates their way to SciLab but unknown to them… In Rouge's PET.

"Ugh… No… Not now." Rouge whispered, as parts of her data on her legs broke off then reattaches itself back. She then rubs her leg before a part of her arm did the same thing and she winced. "No……" Rouge whispered, before all her data turns back to normal and then a tear silently slipped out of her eyes. 'I'm sorry… Sora.' She thought.

At the SciLab, Sora, Netto and their friends attended the meeting and discovered a few things. Like first, the Synchro Chip ver. 2 wasn't made to automatically transform the NetOp into his/her cross fusion form without the DA dome. In fact, it was made to shoot out a make-shift dome from the PET, to create a 50 yard radius Dimensional Area. Instead, the chip creates a Dimensional Suit or DS, so that it won't be easy to defuse a cross fusioner unless the enemy hits the icon very hard enough. But right now, the chip is still not yet stable and only Sora and Rouge can use it.

A few moments later, Enzan decided to help Yuuichiro to create a new PET that can stabilize the new Synchro Chip. Then the meeting is over, but…

"Sora, Netto, may I talk with you two for a moment?" Yuuichiro asked.

"Sure thing." Netto said and he and his sister followed their father to his lab.

"…Have you two heard of the Net Navi by the name, Prototype X.exe?" Yuuichiro asked, looking at the two.

"Hmmm… Not really." Netto said. 'Prototype X.exe? Is he X's counterpart?' he thought.

"I do." Sora answered and explained. "Prototype X.exe or X.exe is the first customize net navi created by our grandfather before he made Pharoahman. Unfortunately… X.exe disappeared without a trace months ago before our grandfather died, and no one knows what exactly happen to the prototype navi. Some suggested that he was stolen from the lab, other suggested that he went rogue and disappeared into the cyberspace, but most suggested that he was infected by a virus and grandpa has no choice but to delete him… That's all."

"I see…" Yuuichiro said.

"Hold off, you know all that?" Netto asked looking at Sora.

"Yeah…" Sora said.

"But why didn't you tell us that before?" Yuuichiro asked.

"Two reasons… One, the information is top secret and I just discovered it by accident. And two, grandpa promised to give X.exe as my net navi when I'm old enough to hold responsibility" then she went silent for a moment before adding. "But he suddenly vanishes without a trace and my aunt gave Rouge as my net navi instead, ne Rouge?" Sora asked.

But it seems Rouge is thinking too deeply. "Rouge?" she asked.

"Uh? Yeah, what she said." Rouge said quickly and appears right on her shoulder.

"Is there something wrong?" Netto asked.

"It's nothing… well… I'll just get back into my PET, errr… See' ya!" Rouge said cheerfully before she dives back into her PET. At first, Rockman notices her actions are weird, but Sora shrugs it off and continues to discuss about the prototype navi.

Still…

(The next day.)(At the training facility.)

"Axl… this is just training, so hit me!" CF Rouge shouts, as she prepares for his attack… But…

"No, I won't. I have to follow the policy as a Hunter." Axl said, as he crosses his arm.

"What policy?" CF Rouge asked.

"A hunter must protect the humans at all cost." Axl said, with one hand on his chest and the other raise up to his ear level, like one of the campers use to do when they are reciting a oath. CF Rouge raised an eyebrow, before she jump-kick him on the face.

"**That policy is old school yo."** CF Rouge said, as she landed on the ground and looks at her fallen younger brother. "Seriously, you know my CF form is strong enough to withstand any blow."

"Still, I'm not going to hit you!" Axl snapped back and turns his armor off as he stands.

"Oh… fine." CF Rouge said, as she defuse from her net navi. The siblings then walked out of the training facility and took a break in the lounge.

"Sora, I know you're upset for not fighting you, but I can't break the law." Netto said, as they sat on the couch.

"**Oh, for crying out loud."** Sora muttered, standing up, facing at her younger brother then punch him right on the nose. "I've face maverick back in your world, and did I get myself killed there? NO!"

"That and this are different! Those mavericks are heartless! Ow…" Netto snapped back, as he tries to ease the pain on his face.

"… Really? When I helped Fehram back there, did she try to kill me?" Sora asked.

"Sis, they were framed." Netto corrected, still holding his nose.

"But we still fought against them just to, to, to turn them into scrap metals?" Sora said, softly yet forcefully. "Mavericks should be given a chance to repent their sins."

"... Sis… I know, I'm reploid myself, but there's nothing we can do about it… It became… a habit for us, hunters." Netto said, and Sora sighs as she sat down and looks up the ceiling. The two Net Navis on the other hand remained silent.

'Is there a way to get rid of mavericks without killing them?' Sora thought, when all of the sudden, she saw her brother drinking raspberry juice and begins to pale. Netto saw this and tries to calm her down, he then offers her the juice, but she immediately jumped off the couch and backs away from it.

"What's wrong, sis?" Netto asked.

"Netto, what did you do?" Rockman asked, popping out of his PET.

"Nothing, I just notice she's getting pale and tried to give her some raspberry juice." Netto said.

"Netto! Sora is allergic to raspberry!" Rouge shouts.

"Really?" Netto counter back.

"Yeah, it all started when she is eleven… There was a country fair and Sora joined in a pie eating contest, guess what's in the pie?" Rouge asked.

"Raspberry?" Netto answered.

"That's right, after eating 6 pies, she won, and the senator was there to congratulate her. But her stomach made quite a twist and she vomited right on him." Rouge said.

"By that, the senator never appeared to any country fairs… Or it was that suit?" Sora said, after recovering a bit. "Anyway, whenever I smell raspberry, I get automatically sick."

"Oh…" Both Netto and Rockman said, as soon as Netto finish his drink and throws it in the trash, Yaito came.

"Hey." Yaito greeted.

"Hey Yai" both siblings said.

"I- Netto, you look like you've been beaten by a Darkloid." Yaito commented, when she first notices the male Hikari.

"Ignore it." Netto snapped, and looks away.

"Aaall riiight… Anyway, I got this for you, Sora." Yaito said.

"What is it?" Sora asked, as Yaito showed it. It's a perfume.

"Want to smell it first?" Yaito asked.

"Sure" Sora said, and Yaito immediately opens the bottle and told Sora to hold her breath as she sprayed some around her. By the time she smelled it, she automatically turn pale.

"Aw… Crap!" Sora whined. "Is that raspberry?!?!"

"Yep!" Yaito said cheerfully, but her smile turn into concern when she saw her friend is writhing in pain. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, and then Sora faces her as she held her stomach.

"I got a funny… coming out of my tummy!" Sora said, as her stomach begins to perform somersaults.

"Oh crap, everybody clear!!!" Rockman shouts, and Netto and Yaito quickly ran away from sick brunette.

(A few days later… after Sora's vomiting situation.)

Rouge woke up earlier, about three in the morning, to see if something is off… and she saw it... some of her data are coming off her body again.

"Damn it." She whispered and tries to recover herself before her partner wakes up. "At is rate, I might end up telling her who I really am." She hissed as she forcefully places the data back in her body, and then winces in pain.

Unlike the normal recovering procedure, forcing her own data back into her body is quite painful.

As soon as she recollects all her data and places them back in her body, Rouge looks at the clock: 6:15 am. 'Oh shoot! She's going to be late!' she thought, then puts her PET into high volume and shouts to wake her partner up… only to have Sora jumping off the bed and hitting face first on the floor.

After Sora and Rouge have a 'nice chat' about the incident, Sora hurriedly wake her brother up, which Rockman failed to do so, by flipping the bed. Then after they dress-up, they rush down the stairs, grabs a toast (while Netto also took a fried chicken leg) and ran out the door.

As they put on their wheels, Rockman notices something is wrong with Rouge. "Rouge, why are you wearing the Rhapsody Armor?" he asked, and Rouge looks at herself.

She saw her grey jumpsuit and white, yellow, and blue armor on her body, and for one thing she is shock… not only her data is flying off but her ARMOR Change System is beginning to go haywire. When Netto notices it, he thought of X's 3rd Armor (Or Hyper armor.) during the third Maverick uprising.

The only difference with Rouge's Armor is… the gem on her helmet turns completely green, and gains another pair of wings on the front. Her loincloth is replaced by a white belt and a long, trench coat and her gauntlets and boots are slightly larger than usual. Then on her trench coat/armor is a green gem sets right above her family icon.

Then it changes without warning, and transforms into also a grey jumpsuit and light blue armor. It looks like her normal armor but it has an extra pair of wings on her helmet, she has a pair of white shoulder pads and gains a mini-skirt.

"What's that?" Netto asked, looking at the new armor.

"It's the Hikari Armor, it's the first armor we got during the fight against the Darkloids. Also grandfather made it for her before he died." Sora said, and Netto looks at his sister weirdly then at the female navi.

"Oookay… Is it me or is Rouge and X are a bit the same?" Netto asked. "I mean, they got the same ARMOR Change System." And Sora shrugs.

"Ummm… Whoopsy-daisy." Rouge said quickly. "I must've turned the ARMOR Change System on, wait…" she said and concentrates, then she glowed and transforms back into her default armor.

Then they reach school on time… only to have themselves excuse when Meijin called them for a mission. And so, Sora, Netto, Enzan, and Laika skipped school and ran down town to get rid of the mavericks, but…

"Get ready." Enzan said, as they reach the area and calls SciLab for the DA dome.

"Pffft… the dome is old school." Sora commented, as she slot-in her own Synchro Chip and transforms into her CF form and then they dive into the fray.

But…

As the fight goes on…

"What?!" CF Rouge yelped as she suddenly defuse from her CF form. "What going on, Rouge?" she asked, as she picks the PET up and took her Buster Pistol.

But Sora is suddenly got hit by worries and fear, as she saw Rouge, lying on the network floor with some of her data floating off her body and writhing in pain. "Rouge!" Sora shouts, and that lower her defences.

"Sora! Duck!" Axl shouts, and ran to his sister and grabs her as he shoots on the maverick that was aiming on her. "Are you crazy?! You could've been killed by that!" Axl shouts.

"But Rouge is…" Sora said, and Rockman saw what is happening on Sora's partner.

"Netto-kun! We should get Rouge to SciLab!" Rockman said in alert, and Netto nodded. Leaving the whole battle to CF Blues and CF Searchman, the Hikari siblings quickly head to SciLab.

But… a certain navi watches on top of a building...

"… X… You are going down…soon, but first… I have to get rid of your counterpart." The net navi said, as he watches the three rushes into the SciLab and lowers his shoulder cannon. "Your very existence, X, is very annoying… even though your counterpart is different, very different from you… It really annoys me."

He then waits for his army to come… then he and the Renegades will strike. Not caring if they harm the humans, but they know only one thing… Get rid of Maverick Hunter Axl, Sora and Rouge.

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Silver: OH CRAP!!! HEY!!! I'm not dead yet! College is really getting a pain till now!

Hibari: Or you are plain busy making Fan-video in YouTube.

Silver: "glares at her dark side and whack her at the back of the head." Anyway… I'm planning to change the plot in one of my fic, Futuristic Past. That's all and Read and review please!


	22. Prototype X exe and Rouge pt 2

Connected Hearts – Prototype X.exe and Rouge part 2

Silver-Blue: We're back! And not yet dead! Again!

Sora: I wonder how long since you've updated this story…

Silver: Very long one… Anyway… Pass! Damnit!

X: Ummm… what's wrong with her?

Sora: She's watching American football, and got addicted to it… Anyway, for the reviewers:

Zohaku:You'll see in this chapter…

zeo knight: Actually the main idea of Connected Hearts is center more on the Network series, but when I got caught by the X series I decided to combine them. And after inspired by Firehedgehog's BN Reploid fic, this story was born with a twist. End.

Silver: Run the ball!

Sora: … Ummm… I think we should start now, enjoy the story.

(Disclaimer: Anyway, Silver- Blue Firebird does not own Rockman.exe or MMX.)

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Prototype X.exe and Rouge part 2

Sora and Axl (AKA Netto) manage to get out of the Dimensional Area by using the Synchro Chip ver. 2 as an opener(1), and ran off to SciLab. By the time they reach the facility, and ignoring the fact that they nearly got hit by a truck…

Then again, Axl is strong enough to hold it back :P

The siblings burst into the command station and Sora knock over their father, crying like heck.

"Sora! Calm down!" Yuuichiro said, and she got off him.

"Is… Sora like this?" Axl asked Rockman.

"Well… not much, only when someone's lives got threaten or something, she goes a bit hysterical." Rockman said, as they head to the infirmary and Sora gave her PET to her father and plug-in her navi into a maintenance machine. He began check every data in her system, her functions and for any viruses. Moments later…

"Sora… I don't think Rouge's going to recover." Yuuichiro said with much disappointment.

"WHAT?!" Both siblings (including Rockman) shrieked at their father.

"Why?" Rockman asked.

"She's missing half of her data… normally a navi like her would only survive for a year, but she hid the pain and manages to live for 8 years." Yuuichiro said.

"But why can't you fix her?!" Sora said angrily, hot tears streaming down her eyes.

"I need the other half of her data, Sora. I can't fix her without it, and if I combine her with other data, her system will just reject it." Yuuichiro said, he as then pushed to the side by Sora and she looks at her partner in the maintenance machine.

"Rouge… you damn mother, you can't just leave me… you're my partner, damn it!" Sora said, slamming both of her fists on the glass and remembers the promise they made three years ago. "Didn't we promise that we will be partners till the end of our time?!" slamming her fist repeatedly on the glass, and Axl gently moved her away from it before it breaks.

Sora then turns away as some parts of Rouge's data began to break, and cried on Axl's shoulder. Axl frowned and gently hugs his sister as he watches Rouge's data break and disappears, he then notices something… a red gem hidden within the crystal clear gem on her helmet. It began to glow… and a screen appeared from it.

"Papa! Sora! Look!" Axl said in alert and they looked at the fuzzy screen which appeared from Rouge's gem. After the fuzzy screen cleared, it showed an old man who looked like a Santa Claus in a lab suit… it was Tadashi Hikari.

"Sora…" It spoke.

"It's…" Yuuichiro said.

"Grandpa…/Grandfather…" Sora and Axl said and Rockman is a bit speechless on seeing the image of their grandfather.

"Do you remember the promise? That X.exe is going to be your partner when you become eight years old?" Tadashi said, it was a recording.

"You know, I wonder now how will "commander" X react to that, seeing his double if you have X.exe as your partner?" Axl asked, and looks at Sora.

But he then shuts up when he receives a glare from Sora… For one thing…

Axl, his is not a time to run a joke! Rouge's dying… errr… is being deleted for Pete's sake!

"Well… I only fulfilled half of that promise. You see, a few years ago, there was a virus breakout in SciLab and X volunteered to delete them. But he was implanted by a virus from behind and I had to put him to sleep. But I remembered the promise I kept for Sora… and so, I decided to split X into two. The first half was place on Rouge, my second prototype and the infected half is in my laboratory, hoping that my computer and the time can delete the virus in his other half. But as time past, I observed X's original data has taken over her systems and used Rouge's original data to prolong its lifespan." The recording said.

"Then Rouge is…" Rockman said, when the recording continued with the message.

"You would be probably thinking that Rouge is no longer her original programming… To be honest, Rouge was intended to be X.exe's younger sister, so he can learn to love and cherish life like what we humans do." The recording said. "But in order to save X.exe from the virus and to keep my promise, I decided to put X.exe's uninfected data in Rouge's incomplete body thus gave born to a new version of Rouge."

"Sora… I know you'll get angry at me and your aunt for keeping the whole thing as a secret. But X… no, Rouge is a very special navi like your brother, Rockman, who needs to grow and learn about the world around him. The only difference is Rockman have human essence in him while Rouge is pure data." The record said. "Now… Go to SciLab's basement, where one of my secret labs is hidden… it's in a storage room and has a dark blue door. Also take is key and password in order to unlock the security system…" then a key pops out from the red gem and Axl quickly plug-ins Rockman to get it, he then look at the key.

It looks more like the ones that humans use on old-fashion doorknobs, and he notices the password encrypted on it.

"Good luck, Sora, and I hope that humans and net navis can live together in peace." The recording said and the screening went fuzzy before it died. There was silence at first then…

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go get Rouge's missing half!" Axl said, snapping Yuuichiro and Sora out of thought.

"Right." Yuuichiro said, he then plug-out Rouge from the maintenance machine. "Let's go to the basement."

"Okay." Sora said, taking her PET from her father.

As they are about to leave the infirmary, there was a loud explosion and Axl leap over to protect them from flying debris. They then heard a voice, and it is too familiar to Axl.

"Hahahahaha!!! Well, well, I never thought to see this rookie in this world." The voice said, and Axl faces the source of the explosion.

"Vile!" Axl scowled, as the smoke clears, revealing the ever familiar maverick who kept coming back like Sigma. The only difference is… he's no longer a maverick but a renegade. But Axl quickly summons his Axl Bullets and switch it into Data Shot mode.

"It's a real pity that X and Zero is not with you… But I'm gonna have a hell of fun when I get rid of X's counterpart." Vile said, and both Axl and Sora realizes his goal… Rouge!

"Who the heck is this Boba Fett cosplayer?!" Rockman scowled at the renegade.

"This annoying cosplayer is Vile. He betrayed the Maverick Hunters and has a long ambition to get rid of X." Axl said, still pointing his Bullets at Vile. "And let's say... he's failing so."

"Well, this time it's different." Vile said, pointing his shoulder cannon at the three. "This time, I'm gonna change this world!"

"In your dreams, Vile!" Axl shouts, and is on his battle stance. "Papa, Sora, you go on ahead with Rockman, I have some virus busting to do."

"Do you think that weapon can hurt me? Oh I'm sca- Aaarrrggghhh!!!" Vile yelped in pain, as a data shot damage him on his left arm.

"Well… yes, since this is the only weapon with Data Shots." Axl said in an obvious tone. "Now… you two, get out of here and get Rouge fix!" he snapped, pushing his father and his sister out of the facility. Then the door shuts and the two battles.

"Be careful, Netto." Yuuichiro said.

"Dad, let's go and fix my partner, quick." Sora said, and the two ran to the basement. "By the way, are Enzan and Laika are still fighting against viruses downtown?"

"Yes, they still are." Yuuichiro said, and they stopped when they surrounded by viruses.

"I would be really happy if they finish those viruses quickly, so they could lend us a hand here." Sora said, as she took out her Buster Pistol and switches it into Data Shot mode. She then gave her PET to her father. "Watch over Rouge, will ya?" she asked, before shooting at the viruses.

Meanwhile… in the infirmary… or what's left of it…

You couldn't tell whether Vile is enjoying the fight or is pissed off, because of the helmet, but he is slightly impressed on Axl's new upgrade of his weapon. But Vile has more upper hands in this fight since Axl Bullet is the only weapon his father modified.

"Dang… if I manage to survive this fight, I have to remind myself to ask Papa to modify my other weapons." Axl muttered, as he avoided Vile's Front Runner attack.

"I'm impressed." Vile said, still pointing his cannon at the rookie hunter." You are a worthy opponent… but it's a real pity that I have to end your life right now." He said as he fires his Longshot Gizmo attack.

"Oh yeah, keep babbling around and the next thing you know, you're deleted!" Axl shouts, as he evaded Vile's attack and shot back.

The two then moved to the hall, continuing their fight and avoiding each others attacks. Also the workers quickly evacuated the area so Axl can concentrate more on fighting Vile, without worrying the workers' safety.

With Sora and Yuuichiro…

"Why don't you ever back off?!" Sora yelled, as the workers help her on shutting the door from the viruses. After they manage to shut the door, they blocked it with several boxes and cargo to secure it.

As Yuuichiro explains the situation, Sora began looking for the specific door that her grandfather mentions. Then Rockman notices a lock panel beside some crates.

"Sora-chan, look over there." Rockman said, and his sister notices the lock panel. They then examine it and took a closer look behind the crate… it was the door.

"Dad! It's over here!" Sora shouts, and began pushing the crates, but unfortunately… they're too heavy. "And I need some help too!" she added. 'Oh why, didn't these nanobots give me strength to lift these heavy things' she thought.

As Sora, Yuuichiro and the other workers help on getting rid of the crates…

"Whoa!" Axl yelped, as he jumps over a table to take cover. The two have moved their fight further into the facilities, also Vile has shoot off all to viruses so no one could interrupt their fight. "Damn… doesn't he ever take a break from his obsession?" he muttered before returning fire.

Then he spotted a huge banner and got an idea, he switch back to Normal Shot mode and then shoots at the chains holding the banner. Vile evaded it, but…

CLONK!

He got hit by its huge supporting bar on his head. He got a bit daze by it, but gave Axl enough time to kick him right on the head and sent the renegade flying to a wall.

"Serves you right, you cosplayer!" Axl barked at the fallen renegade. "And it's a real pity that Zero isn't here to join the fun." He added, before he got hit by one of Vile's attacks.

(In Reploidian…)

"ACHOO!!!" Zero sneezes, as paper flew everywhere and made X jump out of his seat. Apparently, these two hunters are together in order to overcome the guilt of not protecting Sora and loosing Axl. But that broke when Zero sneezes.

"Are you okay, Zero?" X asked, as he fixes his seat.

"Yeah… I guess sniff those damn eraser left-over." Zero said, as he uses his hand to swipe it off from the table.

(Back in Cybertronic.)

"So… this is one of my father's labs…" Yuuichiro said, as he looks around the dust and cobweb covered equipment. Sora, on the other hand, ignored the details, heads to the main computer and turns it on. As the screen it up, Sora plugs Rockman in and together they began searching for the said data.

"Have you found it, Rockman?" Sora asked, as she searches the archives.

"Sorry, but there nothing here…" Rockman said, as he stops to wonder. "That's weird… huh?" he said, when he spotted something glimmering at a cyber wall. A key hole. "Sora! It's over here!" he shouted and rushes to the spot.

"Great!" Sora said.

"Okay, now I have to put the key in." Rockman said, and uses the key. They then heard a sharp click and the wall opens, revealing 3 capsules. Two of them are empty while the other is occupied… by Rouge's missing data, X.exe. The other half looks like a navi missing his lower body, and then a computer voice spoke out.

"SCANNING…… X.EXE DATA RESULTS… 100 FUNTIONAL… 100 VIRUS FREE..." The computer said, and this gave a bit of relief to the three.

"What now?" Rockman asked, Yuuichiro, who watching the whole thing, answered.

"Well, I guess we have to put Rouge in one of those capsules and let the computer handle the rest." Yuuichiro said.

So Sora plugs Rouge in and Rockman carries her to a capsule, right beside the data contain capsule. The capsule slid shut and the computer voice spoke again.

"IDENTIFYING… ROUGE.EXE… INITAITING UNIFICATION… PASSWORD PLEASE" the computer said, and Rockman types in the password and the computer begins to break both navis and transferring them into the third capsule.

Meanwhile…

"Whoa" Axl yelped as he dodges the missile from Vile and it hits the hallway.

"Man… I don't think Papa will appreciate that." He said, looking at the large hole on the wall. "Whoa!" he yelped again, as he tries to outrun another missile and destroyed another part of the hall.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Axl shouts at the renegade.

"Then why don't you be a good reploid and die!" Vile shouts, and then launches more missiles, Axl shoots a few of them before fleeing for his life and jumps into a corner. Causing the missiles to create a much bigger hole than the last one.

"… I'm sure Papa is going to kill me for that." Axl said to himself after seeing the hole.

"Not unless, I kill you myself!" Vile shouts, and shoots at the ceiling. Causing it to collapse above Axl and burying him. "But you'll have to wait, I have to stop that human on reviving X." he said, then plug out.

Then Axl manages to dig himself out of the rubbles and coughs a bit. "Damn…" he said, then… "I swear, when I manage to cross fuse again, we'll see who gets send into the UraNet!!!" he swore, before realizing that Vile might attack Rouge and ran to the storage room in a fast pace. By the time, he reaches the said place, he notices the process is half complete.

"Netto! Did you beat him?" Rockman asked, noticing his brother enter the lab.

"No… he got away." Axl said, taking Rockman's PET from his dad. "Be on alert, Saito, he's probably lurking around somewhere." As he scans the screen, then they heard a loud explosion on the far side of the system.

"Damn! He's after X! … I mean, Prototype X.exe and Rouge!" Axl corrected himself. 'I might be needing aspirin... or a restart on some of my systems after this.' He thought, as he is getting dizzy between the difference of the reploid-type X and a net navi-type X.

"Rouge!" Sora shouts worriedly at her partner, currently forming in the capsule.

(Inside the net.)

Rockman quickly ran to the site where the explosion is and nearly yelped when a purple blur jumps in front of him.

"Get out of my way pipsqueak!" Vile shout and release a volley of lasers from his cannon.

"Battle chip, Met Guard! Yoyo! Slot-in!" Axl said, as he inserted the two Battle chips. A huge Metool helmet appeared and drops on Rockman to protect him from Vile's attack, then he strikes back at Vile with Yoyo.

"GAH!" Vile cries in pain as he as directly hit by the attack, he was then hit several times by a Cannon, a Bamboo Sword and a Rock-Buster

"Give it up, Vile. You may be a former commander of the mavericks but you stand a chance in this area, especially when you're up against my partner." Axl said, as Rockman form his Rock-Buster and points it at Vile.

"… That's maybe true… That's why." Vile said, and then dozens of viruses materializes into the systems and charge right on Rockman. "I decided to play dirty this time." And then he dashes for the capsules.

"No!" Sora shouts.

"Area Steal! Slot-in!" Axl shouts and Rockman disappears from the side and reappears in front of Vile. Axl then slots in the Greiga Chip, he borrowed from his sister and Rockman in his Greiga form pushes the renegade back.

"Stay away from my friend!" Rockman roared, before charging at Vile.

Then Vile jumps over the beast navi and grabs his tail, he then spun around and toss the navi back into the pile of viruses. "Now that's done… This is the end, X." he said, pointing his shoulder cannon at the capsules and fires.

"Damn it!" both Rockman and Axl shouts.

"No!" Yuuichiro shouts.

"Rouge!!!" Sora shouts… then.

"UNINIFICATION COMPLETE." The computer voice said, before the shots hits the capsules.

As the smoke began to build, Vile laughs maniacally as Rockman watch the terrible fate Rouge fallen into. "He's gone! He's gone! He's finally gone!" Vile said, somewhere happiness and craziness.

"I… I'm… so sorry… Sora." Rockman said, looking at the ground sadly.

"Don't be." A voice said, as a hand placed on his shoulder. Rockman turns around and nearly screamed when he saw a familiar face. "What? You looked like you've seen a ghost?" the navi asked.

"But I thought you're in that capsule!" Rockman exclaimed, pointing at the navi. Causing the rest of the people, reploid and renegade to look at him and is shock on what they saw.

"Well, yeah, but I was ejected before the shot connected to the capsules." The navi said.

"It can't be?!" Vile shouts.

"Rouge!" the Hikari family shouts, and the navi smiles at them.

"Yo! Sorry for making such a dramatic entrance." Rouge said, and they saw how different Rouge is.

Well… Rouge is still a she and has black hair, the only thing changes is the eyes. They are no longer purple, instead it is emerald green like Rockman's and X's. And her hair is no longer a thin ponytail but a pair of very long and also thin pigtails.

They also notice the changes on her armour, she still has the black jumpsuit but the rest is different. For instance, her dark blue, turtle-neck vest (with gold trimmings on the edges.) is a bit shorter and only reaches her chest. And beneath the vest are a light blue dress-like trench coat and a pair of wing-like sleeves, to replace the loincloth. And still on her chest is the Hikari family icon.

Her gloves and boots have similar designs… it is dark blue with gold trimmings on the edges and has a light blue wing designs on it. Also, she has a gold and white, V-shaped wrist and ankle protectors.

Her helmet… looks more like a combination between X's helmet and Rouge's. The helmet is dark blue with a light blue V-shape on the front, running to the back and taking form of two pair of light blue wings. And on the wings is the family icon, and on the center of the helmet is a diamond-shaped red gem. It is mounted on a gold gem holder and has a white line running on top of the helmet, forming a halo on it.

"Holy crap, Rouge… you look like a younger, female form of X!" Axl burst.

"Really?" Rouge said. "I thought I look more like Rockman."

"Nope… you look like X more." Sora agreed with her brother.

"X might freak out if he sees me." Rouge commented and sighs, before she and Rockman jumps to the air to avoid Vile's Longshot Gizmo attack.

"Die X!" Vile shouts and charges at the reborn navi at full force. But…

"Oh for the love of Pete! My name is Rouge and I'm a girl!" Rouge shouts. "XR-Buster!" she shouts as s new form of buster took form on her left arm and fires a Power Charge right on Vile. And that shot sent Vile flying to the wall, as Rouge lands on the ground.

"Prism Chain!" she shouts, as she summons her chains on her right arm. She then tosses it directly to Vile but he evaded it, but with the flick of her wrist, she changes the direction of the tip and strikes Vile at the back.

"Gah…! I'll… get you X! I'll get… you!" Vile said in pain before logging out.

"… Is he loco? Or just the fact that his helmet is the cause of his blindness?" Rouge asked Rockman who just shrugged.

(In the real world…)

"Dang… he got away." Axl said, as they plug out their net navis.

"It's all right, Netto-kun. The only thing that matter is that Rouge is back." Yuuichiro said.

"Better than ever!" Rouge piped cheerfully, as she appeared on Sora's shoulder.

"It's nice to see you well, Rouge… although…" Axl said, pointing out Rouge's new image.

"Yes, I know, I look like a female version of X. So quit it will ya?!" Rouge snapped at the New Generation Reploid and the whole family began laughing.

Moments later, Enzan and Laika came and are surprise that the enemy also attacked SciLab, but they are more surprise to find out Rouge's identity. Even Blues fainted when he found out that Rouge was a guy before she was resurrected as a female. But never the less, Sora is happy to keep her partner.

'You really did keep your promise, grandpa. Thanks' Sora thought, as the day ends and the Hikari siblings decided to celebrate the victory in Maharama's curry restaurant. And as they head there…

"You know… I pity X." Axl said.

"Why?" Rockman asked.

"Because his counterpart is a girl." Axl said, grinning and ran ahead to avoid Rouge's rage of swearing on him.

(In Reploidian…)

"ACHOO!" X sneezes, and sends some of his paperwork flying.

"Are you okay, X?" Zero asked who just entered the office.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Z." X said, sniffing and rubbing his nose before he bent down to pick up the papers.

VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV

Silver: Yo! Sorry for the very late updates, folks. I wasn't in the writer's mood for a very long time. Also this was supposed to be a Christmas gift to you all, but the computer just decided to break itself… So instead, this fic is more of a New Year Resolution, and this is the proof:

**I, Silver-Blue Firebird, shall continue writing fanfictions **

**Till the day I die.**

Silver: … I know… It's too dramatic… Anyhow, a friend of mine decided to trade our game consoles (my PSP and her Nintendo DS) for one week and I got addicted to Megaman or Rockman ZX Advent. Then I came up with a theory on Model A… What if Master Albert found Axl's dead body, and without knowing it, and uses it to create the said model? Anyway, it's just a theory… So like I said a looooong time ago, Read and Review!

1. Well they need something to get out of that area!


	23. Omake: Kiseki

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Omake: Miracle of Three Hearts**_

Silver: I'm darn sorry… but after the long hiatus (an extremely long one), I only got my inspiration back after listening to KOKORO KISEKI by Len and Rin Kagamine. When I heard this song, I was thinking, did Rockman X ever thought of his creator? Did he thank him for the time he is born, the short time he spent with him, and the gift he got from Dr. Light. If not, SHAME ON YOU! YOU HEARTLESS! … *coughs*… anyway, this is not a chapter, it is more of a filler about that song with a bit of a difference. Also, I'll be revising the story since I found it… err… sucky? *sweat drop* I just only saw on my own mistakes…My gosh, whatever I wrote somehow made no sense, maybe a little but still… anyway, enjoy this omake and I hope you like it. On with the filler!

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own any of the Rockman/Megaman series except for her OCs. She also does not own Kokoro or the Vocaloids, each is own by their respective owners)

* * *

**Omake: Miracle of Three Hearts**

For some strange reason, even though the road was split in two, on both worlds, there is a house built on the edge of the city.

Same shape…

Same color…

And the same occupant…

However… there is a difference…

In one world, the occupant is a old man, whose wife and would-be child died in an accident, built robots for company and for the sake of the world.

In the other, the occupant is the same old man but he is not alone… no, his wife is still with him and his son is about to get married one day. And he creates a special A.I. programs called Net Navis, for the improvement of the world's communication.

And yet for both men, they have one thing in common… Their loneliness.

* * *

_The first miracle:_

_Is that you were born._

* * *

One wishes to have a family of his own, thus he created three special robots: Megaman, Roll and Protoman. All of them are special in their own ways like Mega who was a helper robot becomes a crime-fighter to protect the world from his creator's former colleague, Dr. Wily.

The other one knows that there is a limit to human life and wishes to live a little longer to meet his grandchildren. And so, this drove him to create Prototype X and Rouge, the first navis to have the most advance programming and wants them to be his grandchildrens' first navis.

Both creations are considered miracles, but for some reason, there is something lacking.

For Dr. Light, he knows that the world is not prepared for his creations because of fear in every human hearts. And so, his last creation, Megaman X, is created in secret. But as he progresses, he notices something wrong… even though X had free-will and ability to learn, there is still something lacking in him. This was shown when the new-born android stared at him with his glass like-eyes, despite the smile on his face, his eyes are empty. And so he tries to find the problem but he ends up finding more…

And soon he is wondering what is lacking in X.

For Tadashi Hikari, he struggled to live longer to meet the new additions of his family. This caused his wife to worry about him. She knew that he doesn't have enough time, and he's straining his body to survive is not good for his health. More complication arises when Prototype X was infected with a virus, and the only way to save him is to hide half of the untouched data into Rouge and to heal the other half in his main computer

However, Rouge's body is rejecting the data and he continues to find a way to save Prototype X. And there he notices that something is lacking…

* * *

_Second Miracle:_

_The time we spent together._

* * *

Time goes by…

For both men, they continue to find a what their creations are lacking.

But it not a very easy to find when there's chaos around them…

Trouble rose in both world… In Dr. Light's, Dr. Wily created new yet terrible Robot Masters and Megaman went after it with Protoman and Bass. In Tadashi Hikari, Haruka gave birth to triplets and two of the three babies are struggling to live due to their sickness.

All the two men can do… is to pray…

* * *

_Third Miracle:_

…

* * *

And then all of the sudden…

"Dr. Light, you got an incoming message." X said, startling his creator, who thought he was off as he fixes him. Turning around to see the computer blinking, then turning into a fuzzy screen.

"Tadashi-hakase, incoming message." Rouge said, as he sat up straight and waited for the message to load.

"The source?" Both men asked.

"Source… is the future…" Both Rouge and X said, and both good doctors are surprised. "From the future… your grandchildren?"

At that moment, the screen lit to show three teenagers. The only one that is normal among them is the brunette girl whose brown eyes shine with tears in it. On her right is a boy, also tearful, probably the same height as her, wore a blue jumpsuit, blue hair and has a strange crest on his chest and Tadashi recognizes it as a navi. On her left is another boy rubbing his nose, taller than the two with spiky orange hair and a cross scar on his face, he wore a dark blue and red armor and Dr. Light can tell that he's an android like X.

And then… a music was played

"_Ima kizuki __animate __umareta riyuu o__"_

_(__"__I am starting to understand the reason I was born.__"__)_

The blue navi sang, unknowingly both Rouge's and X's eyes are beginning to glow.

_"__kitto hitori wa sabishii__"_

_("Being on your own is surely lonely.")_

The spiky android sang, their smiles never wavered

"_Sou Ano hi · Ano toki__"_

_(__"__And, yes, on that day… at that time…__"__)_

The girl sang, and Tadashi's wife heard it and in Dr. Light's world, another android began accessing the song.

"_subete no kioku ni __y__adoru "KOKORO" ga afuredasu!__"_

_(__"__All of these feelings overflowed, they flowed out from my very __heart!")_

All three sang together.

* * *

_The Third Miracle:_

_Was the sudden communication from the future by three unique hearts to both worlds._

* * *

"_Ima ieru hontou no kotoba__"_

_("Now, I can speak true words.")_

_"__sasageru anata ni!__"_

_(__"I dedicate it to you!")_

They sang

And suddenly, X and Rouge began singing with them. Tears falling from their faces as they sing with a smile, startling their creators. Both men notices the change of their creations and suddenly realizes what their creations are lacking…

... A heart…

Meanwhile, somewhere far off, another android began to sing along.

"_A__rigatou__…__Arigatou…" _

_("__Thank you... __Thank you…")_

They sing.

"_kono yo ni watashi o unde kurete__"_

_(__"F__or bringing me into this worl__d")_

Both the spiky teen and X sang.

"_A__rigatou__… Arigatou…"_

_(Thank you… Thank you..)_

"_isshoni sugoseta hibi o__"_

_(__"F__or the days we spent together__")_

Both Rouge and the blue navi sang.

"_A__rigatou__…__Arigatou…"_

_("Thank you… Thank you…")_

"_anata ga watashi ni kureta subete__"_

_(__"F__or everything you have given me__")_

The brunette sang

"_A__rigatou__…Arigatou…__ eien ni utau__"_

_(__"Thank you…__Thank you... I will sing for eternity__")_

As tears continues to leak out of their eyes and the smile of joy is still there.

* * *

And after that… everything went back to the way it is.

With a difference…

In Dr. Light's, he began to wonder how he got grandchildren till he settled on a theory of parallel universe or a different dimension. It would be the only plausible theory for now, since the message came from the future and the blue boy is not a robot by it's looks.

Not even human, he guessed

He then turns to X, who's now sleeping in the capsule and the computer is testing him for the 30 year test. After the sudden communication, the song somewhat remodified his programming and corrected his mind. A correction that might help for the harmony of human and robot turn for the better.

However, he is still in unease, looks at the picture in the computer and spotted the spiky android. A thought entered his head, and thus once more began working. Meanwhile, somewhere else, someone is cursing on the sudden change of the system of his android.

* * *

In Tadashi-hakase's, the experience of the sudden communication left him happy and content. How they contacted him from the future is a mystery but it wouldn't matter. But he left wondering about the strange spiky teen next to the girl, he closely looked like a navi but different. Plus the blue navi seems… human.

Also, thanks to the song, Rouge's and Prototype X's data have merge into one, and gave birth to a new Rouge. But the system is waiting for it's other half and began feeding off on Rouge's original data to survive. Knowing this navi will be given to his granddaughter, he began working on the purification and unification program and some few upgrades for Rouge.

Then a sudden call from his son, announces that he is going to be a father. The news somehow lifted his spirits and made him smile again.

However, it did not improved his deteriorating health... As he became bedridden and his intake of medicine increase, his wife stays and takes care of him. And as the sands of time slowly runs out...

"Lyra."

"What is it, dear?"

"Can you tell this to our grandchildren...?" He asked, as he know she have the chance to meet them after a few months. "Can you tell them... That I'm thankful..."

"For what?"

"For their miracle."

* * *

On one of the cloudy days… Roll escorted Dr. Light to SciLab, the old company he used to worked with and hid blueprints and plans of a new android. He also uploaded his mind there, so he could help X a little longer. After that… they head home.

"Ne… Father, why didn't you built our new sibling?" Roll asked, and the tired doctor looks at her with a gentle smile.

"Because… I am waiting for a special program for it." he said.

"A special program?" she asked, and the doctor chuckled.

"Yes… that program will take longer than I expected but I'm willing to wait." he said.

"Will we be able to meet our other new little brother?" she asked, upon reaching home and she began looking for the keys. "By the way, what's his name?"

"Maybe, you will one day and…" Dr. Light said and she opens the house and enters. "I think we'll call him… Axl."

* * *

_Fourth Miracle:_

_... None...  
_

* * *

When the time comes, both men, died at the same time on their beds with gentle smiles on their faces.

Tadashi Hikari and Dr. Light, are both the same man… but because of the fork on the road, their fates are split. As one road leads to a rather, abundant future and the other leads to sorrowful and dark one, three unique hearts are born to make things right for both futures. And so both men gave their children the inheritance of confinement, solitude and strife.

The road they will take might hurt and break them

But as long as they have the three important keys… hope and miracle can be found.

* * *

Silver: OAO! I don't believe this… O.M.G. *smack self on the table* Oh my gawds! *stops* Are you guys crying?

X, Zero, and the other reploids: *are crying at the back, and guilty at the fact that they didn't appreciate their creators.*

Silver: Oookay… moving on, yes I know you're maybe confuse so I'll sum this up for ya: In one world there lived Dr. Light who creates robots, in the other is Tadashi Hikari who mkes net navis. Yes they are both the same man but different futures due to what happened to his pregnant wife. They both created something great for the world, but one is praise while the other is feared… .. Then a communication from our trio protagonists, gave the two good doctors a stronger resolution and they died leaving our heroes with all the mess and the belief that they can make things right. Oh, and surprise, surprise, Dr. Light actually built Axl?

X: OoO!

Silver: Well… considering I'm going to revise this story, why not make Axl related to X anyway *shrugs* not to mention, Axl's creator is unknown too. As of confinement, solitude and strife… confinement is about Tadashi's limited life, while solitude is about Dr. Light's loss of his loved ones and strife is… the bitter prejudice between robots and net navis to the humans. Well… I think that's it… So I'll be revising this story for a while, so no new chapters… so… ja ne! oh! and can you guess who is the mysterious android in the story? I know you know him! XD!


	24. Just Human

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Just human**_

Silver: Okay, as I promise I'll update only this chapter then revise the rest to the story!

Sora: I hope you continue this time and I can't wait for the challenge. (excited.)

Rockman: Oh no… not that! (runs screaming.)

Netto: … This is a bad mix… I wonder how did Rock-nii survived all of this?

Silver: I dunno… I haven't wrote the prequel of this story. Anyway, I hope you like it!

(Disclaimers: Plata Azul-Firebird does not own any Rockman series except for her OCs… And I need a better job than this! -_-*.)

* * *

**Just human**

A week after Rouge's revival and identity revealed, everything seems to return back to normal…

Well… as normal as it can be and…

"A party?" Sora asked.

Sora, Netto and the rest of the gang are hanging out and eating their lunches on the school rooftop, talking about the latest trend, relaxing and laughing. Sora looked at her blonde girl, who's being served by her servants with roasted beef and, her favorite, strawberry milkshake.

"Yeah, it's a celebration for Rouge." Yaito said and Rouge appears sitting on her NetOp's shoulder.

"Umm… There's no need for that." Rouge said, waving at the girl. "Really, you don't need to do that for me."

"I have to agree… To have her back is the only thing that matters, Yai." Sora said, as she pops a mini hotdog-octopus in her mouth.

"But it's the celebration for her comeback and her discovery of her past." Yaito said, and takes a sip of her milkshake. "I mean, who knew Rouge is the very first customize navi ever made, and that's what we're celebrating."

"Speaking of past…" Netto cuts in. "I wonder how Blues is handling the truth about Rouge now?" he asked, knowing the red navi have a relationship with Rouge.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that…" Sora said and picks up her PET. "Hey, have you talk with Blues yet?" she asked.

Rouge shook her head in disappointment. "No, I haven't… I tried to contact him but he's always on work." she said and looks down. Both Sora and Netto looked at each other before looking at Enzan, who is just beside Sora and he flinch. They stared at him and he cringes at it… yet in the end, he gives up and sighs.

"Blues… he said he needed time to think all of this." Enzan said.

"But it's been a week." Yaito pointed out…

"I know… but what you expect when you learn that your girlfriend was a male in he past?" Enzan asked.

"Whoa… you mean Rouge is a transsexual?" Dekao asked.

"I AM NOT A TRANNY!!!" Rouge yelled, Dekao yelps and backs to a wall in fear. "It's just happens that my soul was merged with my sister, in order to save me from the virus. Although both of our programs are mixed and I still got most of my data and skills, I'm a girl!"

Everyone stared at the enraged dark blue navi till…

"… So… Rouge's a bisexual?" Gutsman asked.

For one minute everything is quiet, and the next, a scream is heard from a certain navi being tortured.

**:::^*^:::**

School ended and in the end, the whole group agrees on holding a party for Rouge at Yaito's place. Despite that, Rouge is still depress on the fact that Blues is still avoiding her. She sighs as Netto and Rockman enters the living room with a bag of chips. Right now, Sora left with Enzan to check on Blues and not to scare him, she left Rouge with her two brothers.

"Are you okay?" Rockman asked, as he jumps off Netto's shoulder and lands on the coffee table Rouge is on.

"Yeah… I'm fine." Rouge said.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm sure he'll get over it." Netto said.

"But what if he doesn't?!" she yelled at them.

"Rouge… you're over-reacting a little bit." Rockman said and motions her to calm down.

"Well, you don't have any idea of what it's like of being a girl!" the dark blue navi shrieks. "Not to mention I used to have a mind track of a boy, who was trying to live as a girl because of that incident, 15 years ago!"

"Eh he, he… well, on the bright side, you manage to survive those, Rouge." Netto said.

"You got that damn right." she spats, as she sits on the corner of the table and groans.

"Rouge, look at it this way, at least you still have a chance unlike me..." he said with a sad smile, and caused both navis to look at him.

"What do mean, Netto-kun? Don't you like Meiru?" Rockman asked.

"Well… yeah, in my heart I still like her… but it also says that it will be impossible for us, considering this situation." Netto said, and looks at the two. "So I decided that Meiru would be better off with someone else, someone who can make her happy and to give her the attention she needed."

"So you're not going to fight for her?" Rouge asked, knowing how Meiru is so obsess on the young Hikari. Netto sighs and closes his eyes… and then….

"How? I'm a Maverick Hunter and a Net Savior, my priority is to protect the people from harm. I'm… not that human anymore, even though a part of me is human but what if my reploid side hurts her?" He asked. "I… I have to be selfless and avoid trouble, I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Netto…" Rouge asked, and Netto looks at her. "I hate to say this but that is going to bite you hard if you don't face your problem."

"Are you saying that I'm coward?" Netto asked, glaring at her.

"Hey, you said it, I don't." Rouge said. "Netto… you are still human in some ways, you'll figure it out."

Netto sighs and opens the bag of chips. "What about you?" he asked.

"Me? I'm just doing the best that I can be… besides it's not that bad to be a little selfish." Rouge said with a little smile.

"I'm back!" Sora called out and walks in the room. "Great news, I got Blues to come to the party this coming weekend."

"Really?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah, so don't chicken out on me, okay?" Sora said, and notices her brother. "Hey, what's with the long face?"

"Ah… it's nothing…" Netto said, he looks away and pops a chip into his mouth. Both Rouge and Rockman looks at him, while Sora sensed that he's hiding something but decided to wait till he's ready to tell.

**:::^*^:::**

Weekend arrives, and everyone that the Hikari triplets knew are there for the party…

Even…

"Netto-kun!" Meiru called out and glomps on the youngest Hikari. And Netto is stupefied, but not on her sudden actions but on what she is wearing. She has make-up on, which is very noticeable on her very bright, red lipstick, her hair is wavy, some accessories and she's wearing a white and red, sleeveless blouse, black, leather mini-skirt and a short, black and red boots to finish.

Unable to move, Netto held out a card saying help to his sister and to his friends. But he is not the only one who is stun… Sora's mouth is open like a gaping fish, Enzan and Laika froze on what they're doing, Dekao and Dingo got bleeding noses, Yaito's hair stood up much like of a cat, Tohru dropped his plate, Annetta and Jasmine both tripped over the rug, Pride colliding on the wall for not looking where she walks and a few adults are gasping.

Then Netto panics when a movement below sent warning signals in his head. "S-s-sis!" He yelped and snapped his sister out of her shock. With Yaito's help, she manages to separate her little traumatize brother from… a very jade Meiru.

In the network…

Rouge and the other navis met up with Roll, and they too got struck on what Meiru is wearing while Roll is embarrass on her operator.

"O…okay… Roll, what's up with her?" Rouge asked, looking at the pink navi.

"She… she want's to impress Netto-kun." Roll said, and watches as Sora and Yaito separates Meiru from Netto.

'You have to be joking.' Rouge thought as she looks at Meiru who's ignoring Yaito's sermons at her. 'This will not help Netto on is problems.'

Rouge continues to observe the dark pink girl as she converse on some people… She's seems to be kind to Rockman, but she kept sending death glares at her and Sora. She's a little nice to Laika and Searchman, but she despise Enzan and Blue, at one point she stomps on the vice president's foot. She ignores the others but shows respect to the adults and to the princess, yet she would yell at Yaito's servants as if they were her own. And lastly, she would stick on Netto like a magnet causing the reborn Net Savior to stick with his sister, which ends up in a one-sided glaring contest between two girls.

Her conclusion…

'He's definitely going to break her heart if she keeps this up…' she thought and sighs, as Netto runs off and hid behind Enzan and Laika.

Back in the real world…

Everyone seems to enjoy the party…

Well… everyone that is.

During the speech, Meiru avoided it with Roll, who's without much of a choice, by going to the garden.

In Netto's speech, he made a small joke on how will X react on having a girl counterpart, and Rouge wants to murder him right on. On Sora's speech, she thanked her grandfather who created her partner and for saving her. And then comes Blues' speech, he said that despite the past, he already accepted all Rouge is to be and he still loves her. Touch by this, Rouge glomps on him after he got off the stage and this made Sora and Enzan smile.

Then comes the dance… Netto took the opportunity to dance with his sister, before Meiru returns. And when she did, he uses his Copy Abilities, transforms into a bat-type mechaniloid and hangs around on the ceiling. Both Sora and Rouge notice this and they shook their heads, as she secures his PET.

After that, they eat and Netto tries to keep his distance from Meiru by sitting with Sora and Enzan.

And then… it's challenge time.

**:::^*^:::**

"We're going to a WHAT?!" Rockman screamed the last part, causing his two siblings and Rouge to cover their ears. They are on the bus right now and they are heading to the challenge site.

Which is…

"A abandon, haunted factory!" Yaito declared once more, then the bus stopped. "Well, here we are." pointing at the factory.

Unlike the typical haunted areas, there is no fog nor any crooked trees, instead the factory stood in the tall grassy area far from the city. The sky is not covered with lightning or thunder, but it's not clear either. The gate that blocks the factory from the group, have rusted and can be easily push down with Netto's current strength. And the factory seems to be in a lot of mess with a few rooms and wide space.

"This… is so cool!" Sora exclaimed, getting excited by the minute as the others got out of the bus. "Do you think we'll see zombies in there?"

Some people sweat-drop at her antics, and Netto wondered how Rockman handled her obsession on supernatural considering he's afraid on one type of it. "Uh Sora… do you like ghost?"

"Yeah!" Sora answered. "I also like the undead, aliens, robots, mysterious creatures and ancient races!" she listed with a smile and poses: pointing at the stars and a hand on her hips (1).

Netto just stood there and then picks up his PET. "Rockman, how in the world did you manage to stand against all this?" he asked his older brother.

"Believe me, it wasn't easy as you think." Rockman said.

"Yeah." Rouge said, appearing on Sora's shoulder. "Considering you screamed your head off during the Haunted Marathon last Halloween." and the blue navi cringed.

"Haunted Marathon?" Netto asked.

"It's an 8 hour late night movie marathon in Halloween, it shows the most scariest movies ever made from classics to the latest trend. It starts at 11 pm till 6 am and Sora would drink caffeine for that." Rouge said and looks at her NetOp.

"What? Coffee's not that bad… at least I only drink it in Halloween." Sora said.

"Right… and neighbors are not that thrilled to have Rockman screaming their beauty sleep off." Rouge stated.

"Eh heh… well…" she said sheepishly and looks at Netto. "You should've seen Rockman's reaction on Sadako in the Ring Movie-." but she got cut off.

"S-So-SORA!" Rockman shrieked in embarrassment.

After that, Yaito bought out a raffle box to see who pairs up with who… that's right they are going to do this dare with a partner. And without much luck, Netto is paired up with Meiru and Sora is not the much thrilled of the outcome. She, however, paired up with Laika while Enzan got Tohru as his partner. They didn't mind this since Laika is her best friend, and Laika seem to be fine when Pride is paired up with Annetta. Yaito is then paired up with their old elementary teacher, Mariko-sensei and Dekao is paired up with Jasmine… and he just couldn't stop blushing. And lastly, Dingo got Masa as his partner. The remaining one, Higure, stayed outside as the timer of the challenge and to watch over their transport.

"Okay, is everybody ready?" Higure asked and nodded, while Netto tries to put a bit if distance between him and Meiru, who constantly stick back to him. "Well then, let's go!"

And so pair by pair, they enters the factory. The first one to enter was Pride and Annetta and the next pair will have wait for the 10 minutes for current pair to either move to a new area or run out screaming. The latter happens, five minutes later, when Annetta went running out scared with Pride just behind her.

After the two girls came out, Dekao and Jasmine went in next. They both manage to stay in for ten minutes till Dekao came running out with Jasmine at his back, declaring they've seen a half-corpse. Too afraid, the group let Sora and Laika go, knowing that it will take more than a half dead body to shake the female Net Savior. As for Laika, he uses his military training on controlling himself while Sora explores the area. They then discovered that the corpse that Dekao and Jasmine saw, was a mannequin like the ones in the mall.

And so the exploring continues, unknown to them… somebody is following…

**:::^*^:::**

"Ne, Netto-kun, after this party why don't we go at my place?" Meiru asked as she clings on Netto and he's not very happy of the situation he's in as they enters the factory. The young reploid would try to pry Meiru off as they explore, but he couldn't because of the fact he might hurt her with his strength. He looks at Rockman and Roll, who are feeling sorry for the state he's in. And for once, Rockman forgot that he has a fear of ghosts because he is too busy worrying on what will his operator is going do.

As Netto tries for another time to pry off her grip, he felt something out of place…

An invisible force observes him from the distance, flicking his tongue and silently chuckling at their obliviousness on their surrounding. The young Hikari sensed something not right and scans the area, as Meiru tries to get is attention.

"Netto-kun, is something bothering you?" Meiru asked, and this snaps him back to his current problem. It is now or never for him…

"Meiru…" he said, and she hugs his arm, pressing something on him causing him to be disturbed. But he kept his cool and looks directly at his friend. "I don't think this will work out."

"Hmm… what do you mean? Is it my outfit?" she asked, and loosen her grip. He took his chance to get his arm off her, he then sighs and looks at her.

"It's not your outfit, Meiru. It's about me." Netto said, and Rockman and Roll watches as he begins to tell her what he feels. "Meiru… I'm sorry but I cannot have a relationship with you, it's… impossible for us."

"W-what…?" Meiru said in disbelief and grows paranoid, as Netto looks away. "But Netto, I really love you. Please… I was dead when you died 3 years ago. But when you came back, I came back too."

"But when I came back, I've changed and I couldn't risk putting everyone in danger." Netto said. "Besides, how can we be together when there is still a conspiracy between my kind to humans? The federation wouldn't even approved of this and might deactivate me. Back in my world, my sister is often dragged away from me and my friends by some anti-reploid protesters, thinking that they are saving her life."

Meiru stared at him then.. "It's Sora, right? Did she told you lies?" she asked as she grows frantic by the minute.

"Meiru, my sister did not lie. She was merely cultured shock when she came to my foster world, heck she didn't even uttered any word that she came from our home world." he said

"She lies" she hissed. "She manipulated everyone."

"No, she doesn't. She's the kindest person I met, if it weren't for her I wouldn't be here." He said.

"She's a fake! She told you lies!" she screeched.

"No, she did not. Why do you hate her so much?" Netto asked, and this made her snapped.

"Because she stole your life and dreams! She just suddenly came from another place, declares to be your sister and to take your place as a Net Savior?! Yeah right, she only wants to get famous and get a rich guy as her boyfriend! She's the real slut, not me! And you know what I think, I think she's-" but she yelped when something sharp cuts her cheek. She then steps back in fear when she realize that it has Netto who hit her with his gun. His hands are shaking as he held his gun on one hand, while the other is holding his arm, forcing it away, and he is breathing heavily. Both Rockman and Roll are shock seeing this.

"Don't… don't you dare say those things about my sister!" he shouts at her. "If it weren't for her, this world would've taken over by Regal by now! If it weren't for her, Blues' would've been deleted and left Enzan alone! If it weren't for her, who's going to watch over my family and protect this world?! If it weren't for her… I wouldn't be able to find my way back home… to my family."

He then took a deep breathe, lowers his gun and looks at Rockman on his shoulder. "Meiru… I think we're just better off… as friends, ne?" he said, but he finds himself alone and he sighs. "I scared her off, didn't I?"

"Well… I think you just…" Rockman said, tries to think of a good excuse but couldn't think of any. "Yeah, you scared her off." and Netto slumps his shoulders.

If the Maverick Hunters were here, he would be labeled as a maverick by his action and he is considered lucky that they are in another world. He then summons his armor, switch his gun to Data Shot and turns around. "Come out! I know you're in here!" he shouts, and a chuckle was heard.

"Hee, hee, hee…that quite a feat there, kid." a voice came and a lizard-type navi appears on the ceiling.

"Sting Chameleon… former ranger of the 9th unit in the Maverick Hunters." Axl told Rockman, and points his guns at him. "Even though you are the best, you're still a coward with your back-stabbing tricks."

"Nyah ha ha HA! I'm glad to be known!" the lizard navi said, as he drops on the floor on his feet. "So… want to jump to our side, kid?"

"As if!" he shouts and shoots at the renegade, who just jumped back and blends into the surrounding again.

"Nya ha ha! Well, you did hit a human!" the renegade shouts and Axl froze. "Because of that, you broke the first law!"

"Shut up!" he shouts and shoots at the source of the voice, not knowing that Chameleon is at the other side of the area.

"Netto-kun! At your back!" Rockman shouts, but it is too late when Axl yelps in pain at the back. He then shoots at the back only to have missed and to be hit again, Rockman is trying his best to help his brother on his fight with an invisible enemy by scanning the area. But the renegade would move to a new area and is fast, making it impossible to track and predict it's movements. Plus to add to the problem, spikes are falling from the ceiling, which made Axl run around the room avoiding it. The young reploid manages to avoid the tongue and shoots back, but only misses when…

Suddenly, something burst from the wall and manages to hit the invisible renegade right on, causing it to become visible again.

"Eh?" Axl wondered and looks at the hole, there he saw his sister in her CF form and on her right arm is the Gold Fist chip. Jumping out of the hole, she then notices her brother. "Hey guys! Sorry… but this crocodile just busted on my ghost hunting to a stop." she quipped.

"It's Wheel Gator, you stupid human girl!" the new renegade shouts, and in response she tossed a bunch Mini Bombs right at him and Chameleon, who's right under Gator.

BOOM!

"Really…" Rouge commented and CF Rouge felt her partner sighing. "Do bad guys always insults the good?"

"I think it's a standard rule, Rouge." CF Rouge said, chuckling a bit then notices her brother. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" Axl said and went towards her. "Where's Laika?" he asked, noticing the Sharo Net Savior is missing.

"He went out to find our friends and to safely get them out." CF Rouge said casually, then notices Meiru is missing. "Wait, where's Meiru?" she asked, and Axl became silent by that.

"Uh… she ran out after she and Netto-kun had… a disagreement." Rockman said, CF Rouge just stared at her little brother. Then they both yelps when something hits them and is sent flying to a wall over the junks.

"Ack!" CF Rouge shouts, as she winces at the sore spot. "Ow… we'll talk about that later."

"Right." Axl said and the two jumps out of the junks with their weapons ready and charges at the renegades. The two switches enemies so CF Rouge faces off with Sting Chameleon, while Axl fights against Wheel Gator.

CF Rouge shoots at the lizard renegade before it went invisible, she then stood still on her spot and waited. The renegade taunts her on not being able to see her as she avoids the spikes and then he attacks, she then leans at the sides and quickly grabs the long metallic tongue. Chameleon is surprise at this as she smiles and pulls him off the wall. "Ice Punch! Slot-in!" she said, her free hand took form of a huge, icy blue fist and punches him back to the wall.

Meanwhile, Axl dodges the saw wheels that were thrown by the alligator renegade, and once he's near he would jump over, avoiding it's jaws and shoots above it. This caused for it to go mad and throws more wheels at him.

"Switch." CF Rouge called and the siblings tag one another, and now she is facing Gator again while Axl faces Chameleon once again. As he avoids the spikes and the Chameleon Sting attack then shoots back, CF Rouge uses her Prism Chain and shuts Gator's jaws with it as she shoots him with her XR-Buster. Then to make her to stop shooting, Gator spins causing to pull the female Net Savior into a dizzy ride.

"Sora!" Axl shouts and went to aid her, only to be hit by a Chameleon Sting. And then he is hit by his sister's body and got himself also trap in the spinning ride till the chain breaks. They went flying over the junks once more, but they quickly got up to their feet and winces a bit. "Ow… what the hell are you thinking, Sora?" Axl said, as he picks up his guns on the ground.

"A very bad idea… Ow." she winces and rubs her back.

"You got that right." Rockman quipped as CF Rouge feels her partner nodding in agreement.

"Okay, shut it you two." she snapped, as she summons her buster again. "I got a plan." she said and whispers it to them.

"Will it work?" Axl asked, looking at his sister.

"It works with me and Tesla last time." she commented and both siblings jumps away from an incoming attack.

The two kept shooting at them, this time, CF Rouge went after Chameleon and Axl went head on with Gator. CF Rouge dodges the Chameleon Stings and summons her FlameSword, which then got Chameleon's tongue warp around it when he strike her with it and got his tongue burn. Axl kept hopping above the saw wheels and shoots at his open mouth. This cause the alligator to yell in pain as the maverick hunter slides behind him and grabs it's tail.

"Sora-chan! Axl-kun! Now!" Rockman shouts.

"Shotgun! Slot-in!" CF Rouge exclaimed as her other arm took form of a buster, she shot Chameleon at his chest and is sent flying.

"Fly high!" Axl shouts, then spins around enough to toss the renegade up and collides with the other.

"Mega Cannon times five! Slot-in!" she said and a far more deadlier cannon forms on her arms, and before either one of the renegade could react. "Omega Cannon! Fire!" and powerful shots were sent flying towards the renegades and hits.

Both Sting Chameleon and Wheel Gator are deleted.

**:::^*^:::**

The two then walks out of the factory and their friends crowded over them to see if they are okay. After explaining what happened, Yaito declared the challenge is over and Sora sulks a little on not finding a real ghost. All the group can do is to reassure her and remind her that there are still many chance to encounter them. Netto then asked where Meiru is, Dingo responded that she ran out and called a taxi and he sighs in relief.

And so the party is over and everyone boarded the bus. But Sora gave Yaito a look and then looks at Netto, who's just staring up at the cloudy night. Seeing this, she agrees to leave them behind and gave them two umbrellas, just in case of sudden rains. Enzan and Laika looks at the back of the bus, waves her good-bye and good luck, which she smiled on and waved back.

The bus left and Netto didn't notice it left till… "Netto-kun." Sora called out, he snaps out of his trance and notices that the bus is missing.

"Eh? Where's the bus?" Netto asked dumbfounded.

"It got stolen…" she said and he looks at her. "Just kidding, they left already. Come on, we got a long way to get home."

"Eh? Can't we just take a taxi or something?" he asked.

"A little walk won't hurt, you know." Sora said with a smile and takes her brother's hand. They began their walk down the road, and the bright lights of the city is their only guide home. During the walk, everything is silent… even Rouge didn't uttered a word knowing it's a brother and sister thing. So she stayed in her PET and will just interfere when things went out of hand.

"Netto-kun…" Sora said, breaking the silence and pulling Netto out of his trance once more. "What happened between you and Meiru?" she asked.

"Ah, it's nothing." Netto answered a little too quickly for his comfort and she stops. She looks at him with concern eyes and sighs.

"Netto, don't lie to me… I notice how distant you are from her and you would run as if she was the scariest thing that was born." She pointed out, he sulks at it and looks down. "Please… tell me what's wrong."

Without looking at her, he took a deep breath and… "I told Meiru that I no longer love her." he confessed.

"You did?" she asked, a little surprise because she once heard that Netto liked Meiru but was too dense to see Meiru likes him back.

"Un." Rockman said, appearing on Netto's shoulder. "He broke her heart tonight."

"I did that because… of my condition. I can't have a relationship with her, when there is still the prejudice between the reploids and humans. I even hit her with my gun-" Netto got cut off.

"You did what?!" she said in surprise and looks at Rockman, who nodded to confirm what their little brother did. Netto chuckled sadly and looks at his sister.

"I'm… lucky, that the others are not here. If they do, they would label me a maverick and I would always be on a run… X and Zero might even kill me before I leave the base." he said, and all of the sudden, Sora embraces and comforts him. At first he was surprise but gives in and rest his chin on her shoulder.

"Netto…" she said. "You're no maverick and I'm not going to say what you did is either wrong or right."

"Sis…" and they let go from the embrace.

"You've only listened to what your heart tells you to do… so it okay, we are just humans, Netto-kun, even-" she knocks on the metal part of his body. "You're all that."

He smiles and hugs his sister some more, slowly understanding what is meant of being human. Putting aside differences, pushing away fears and terrors and accept what they have... Although, there are still some differences on theirs to humans, he is sure that there will be a way for them to stand alongside one another.

"Oh…" he said realizing something, letting his sister go. "I gonna have to apologize to Meiru!"

"Same here." Sora said, and Netto and Rockman looks at her. "Hey, she and I got on the wrong foot and I got some faults on her. You think you're the only ones?"

"Yeah, she pulled a few pranks on Meiru long ago in elementary, just to get back at her a bit." Rouge said, finally appearing out of her PET.

"R-Rouge!" her NetOp said in surprise. The two boys laughs and then they races off home, leaving their doubts and troubles behind on that cloudy night.

* * *

Silver: It is… DONE! YAY! (jumps for joy.)And crap this is a long one. Although, I do have trouble on selecting who's in the party… I forgot who are the rest of the people are! I need the Rockman Stream subs! It's been long! 0A0! A bit sucky on the fight scenes but at least getting better, and this is the insight of the next chapter but I will not make it unless I finish revising this story.

**

* * *

**

**SNEAK PEEK!**

"Blues-kun, are you okay?" Sora asked, looking at her partner who got dizzy by impact of the fall.

"Hai, Sora-sama, I'm okay." the red navi said and shook his head.

"That's good." Sora said and sets her PET on the bench. "Now wait here, I'm going to take a look on that bus stop."

"Wait! Sora-sama!" Blues shrieked but too late, she's gone.

Sora went around the corner and there she saw the bus stop. It is empty, quite old, dust have covered the seats and there is a hole on the roof. Wanting the see the ghost, she went on the bus stop and sat on one of the seats. She waited…

And then a sound was heard.

PING!

She turns to see a girl, around preteens and wears a overlarge white sweater with a tank top and shorts beneath it, also it covers her hands. She also have brown boots, a strange headphone and she have a rabbit plushy backpack. Her eyes are green and blonde hair, and she seems to be happy on seeing her.

"Hello... what's your name?" she asked.

"Ah… Ijuin Miriku Sora, I'm sure you heard of me, right?" Sora said, but quickly backs away when the girl's eyes narrowed. She once again she went near and looks at her, and she went into a fit.

"How dare they!" she shrieks, causing Sora to jump about a foot. "I let them use this, I let them merge the program with another, I let them put their minds into it but… this… has gone TOO FAR!" she screamed the last part. She then took deep breaths and calms down, she then looks at the slightly freaked out brunette and she smiled once more.

"Sorry… I'm Meer, a former D-WARD of TerraByte and the protector of this portal." she said and places her hand on the girl's head. "The life you've been living in is a lie… let me return your real memories to you… Hikari Miriku Sora."

* * *

Silver: Surprise? Tsubasa Chronicle just inspired me after the capsule episode thing… I forgot what the episode was called, SORRY! XD! By the way, D-WARD means DDoS netWork Attack Recognition and Defense, I just found it randomly in some sites and I never own it... EVER. Read and review, minna-san.

1 - It's the Haruhi Suzumiya pose, damn that girl is infectious and so is her dance XD!


	25. Duets towards Happiness

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Duets towards Happiness**_

Silver: I tried not to get the title so sappy… but in the end I failed, lols! X3! Today, we're going to learn how Sora's and Enzan's relationship came to be.

Persona: Yay! Home video! Home video! (popping out of nowhere.)

Blues: Quiet you! And get back in here! (grabbing the small navi and gets back in the story.)

Enzan: Do you really have to show this?

Silver: Well, I bet the readers are wondering how you and Sora got together and Netto is demanding me for explanation about it. So pretty much this is a flashback story. (noticing Enzan is sulking.) Awww… no worries I won't show much of the embarrassing parts, anyhow enjoy minna-san.

(Disclaimers: Plata Azul-Firebird does not own any Rockman series and the songs that were featured except for her OCs… And I need a raise! -_-*.)

* * *

**Duets towards Happiness**

"Remind me again why we're here?" Netto asked, as his sister digs into some junks.

"We're here to find parts and stuffs we need the built this charging capsule." Rockman said as he looks around, helping his sister and Rouge on their search. After school, they went to the junk shop to find some parts for the said machine.

"Yeah, you've been eating large amount of food lately, so we're finding an alternative way to keep your energy up without making a lot of trips to the groceries." Sora pointed out and pulls out a box full of computer chips. "This is useful… wait, there's a rare chip in here! Who the hell throws this?" she exclaimed as she pulls out a Paladin Sword chip.

"Lucky, and is that bad?" Netto asked.

"Well, you did ate about a week worth of groceries within 3 days and quite a large amount last time in Yaito's party. If we sum up all the grocery trips… it's gonna be bad on the family's budget." Rouge quipped, he sighs and helps his sister look for the items needs.

"But I couldn't help it, I need that amount food to keep me going." Netto said, as he throws a keyboard overhead.

"Look, I'm considering some of this options…" Sora said, turning to her brother. "It's either we work and earn for our foods, increase the vegetation and farm productions, built an energy capsule or remove that copy chip of yours to lower your energy need." And then Netto quickly covers his chest and turns it away. "And I know you'll disagree with the latter." she added.

After getting the stuffs needed, she paid for the items and they left to apologize to Meiru.

**:::^*^:::**

"Why would I take this… creature in my wing?"

"Well… you do need something… something to give you an edge in all of your… failed missions."

"And why do you suggest this?"

"Well… firstly, my dear, X has a soft spots for that kind and I think this could do well to your advantages… and a certain boy will be also distracted by it."

"What about that girl?"

"Never worry, because that boy will be her weights to slow her down… Just leave it to me, dearie, just prepare him for his new NetOp and let me handle the talking to that sweet girl, ne?"

And she left… as someone else enters the room.

"Master Sigma… are you sure about this? I mean he despises being ordered around and he might end up killing this human rather than cooperating."

"…Just prepare him for this NetOp…"

"Yes Master."

**:::^*^:::**

Netto sat on the couch sighing with a magazine on his hand… Yesterday, they went to Meiru's place to apologize. But they end up running away when she throws random items at them and yelling to leave her alone. The young reploid was guilty about the situation his friend is in, but is comforted by his sister.

Now… back at the current situation…

The doorbell rang and he opens the door to see Enzan in a tuxedo. "Hey Enzan, what made you come here?" Netto asked.

"I'm here to pick up your sister." Enzan said and enters the house.

"As in a date?" Netto asked and Enzan nodded. "Well you're gonna have to wait for a while, she's still in the shower." and motions the vice president to the living room. And it was quite silent… it was kinda torturing him while the visitor just flipping the magazine that he suppose to read.

Then… "Hey Enzan…" he spoke up.

"Yeah?" the older boy answered.

"How did you and Sora got together?" Netto asked, and the other boy looks at him. "I'm not being nosy or anything, but you and my sister? Not to mention, Rouge and Blues… I mean how did that happened?"

"Well… I guess you have the right to know what happened…" Enzan said as he places the magazine back on the table. "Okay, let's start at the beginning… when I first met her, we don't really see things eye to eye, even Laika used to think the same. I always thought that she is similar to you since she was outgoing and cheerful like you, but I was proven wrong. She is much more… sassy, but she wouldn't forget to be polite or to be respectful to others and is a bit mature. There are times when she's a bit of a spaz and reckless, but she shows more control than you do. The things that stood out from her is her ability to understand others and her kindness. I used to think that her personality is somewhat a mix between yours and Rockman, with a feminine side to it."

"I see." Netto chuckled at it, remembering how she used to act like that towards him and his friends, back in his foster world.

"After saving Blues, we began to understand one another and became friends. As Laika went back to his home country, I became her partner. At first, yes, I was protecting her as a friend… but…" Enzan trailed off.

"It developed into something more." Netto supplied.

"Yeah… and I wasn't the only one, Blues got attracted to Rouge too." he said and the said red navi appears on his shoulder.

"Well… you're the one who got attracted to Sora-chan first" Blues said, crossing his arm. "And you didn't even know it was a crush at the beginning."

"Dense much?" Netto snickered as the bi-colored hair boy glares at him.

"Shut up, Hikari." Enzan snapped and the reploid just shrugs it off. "… Anyway, like Blues said, I didn't know it was a crush at first. I thought it was annoyance till Annetta corrected it for me after the Cyberbeast war, and I started to deny over it. That is until the Cache incident…"

"Oh I remember that." Netto said, and he launch into the story on how he got back to their world as a ghost. He told Enzan on how he helped Sora and Rockman cross fused for that moment, and how he helped her on the fight by giving the three special Soul Unison. After that… he left and didn't know what happen to her till her arrival to the other world.

"I see… so that's why…" Enzan said, placing his hand on his chin then looks at him. "After that fight, she was dying and we rushed her to a hospital. She then went into a coma for 3 months due to the extreme exhaustion from it." And Netto's jaw drops in shock, he didn't know that the three Soul Unison actually drained her energy nearly all out. Enzan notice his shock face and sighs. "It's the past, Netto, there's nothing you can do about it." he said.

"But I almost killed her with it!" the redhead exclaimed.

"But she came out fine." the two boys turns to see Sora above the stairs, is wearing a bathrobe and is drying her hair. "Netto, stop doing the emo and it's not your fault. In fact, I'm glad you did that."

"Eh?" Netto is stupefied and Rockman appears on the coffee table.

"I agree with her." Rockman said and he stared at his navi. "If you didn't showed up and gave us those 3 Soul Unisons, we wouldn't be able to defeat Cache and free everybody from him… we also wouldn't find out that you're still alive somewhere."

"Yeah, basically you did what's right but you didn't know the side effects of it." Sora said, and then takes her PET out. "I'm gonna dry my hair and get dress, so…" she tosses her PET to her brother, who caught it and places it on the table. "Be back in 30 minutes!" she shouts as she heads back to her room.

"So… what happened? How did you cope in that situation?" Netto asked, looking back at his guest.

"As Sora sleeps, my mind went into 'what if' mode and I began asking myself whether I truly love her or not. And I'm still in that situation even when she woke up, eventually I decided to put it aside for a while to concentrate on work." Enzan said and shift on his seat. "Then different adventures came in our way and it caused me to realize the truth and become overprotective on her… so did Blues to Rouge."

And the red navi's face turns red as his armor as Rouge appears, giggled and gives him a hug, as both Rockman and Netto refrains on laughing at him. Enzan began telling each different adventures he and Sora got into, there are times Laika is with them and there are times they do it as partners. He also told him that there are times she saved him from danger and vice versa, or Laika would saved them and… well, they're basically just saving one another. The young reploid would smile at the stories where his sister would remind Enzan and Laika that they are still kids, despite being treated as adults by others.

"Oh… that reminds me…" Netto remembered. "When Meiru-chan has a crush on me and attempts to flirt, my friends said I was too oblivious to notice that she likes me… what about you and my sister, are in the same situation as I am?"

"Actually, it's bit of the other way, I'm the one who's doing the 'puppy-love' and denials while she minds her own business… and other people's love life." Enzan stated.

"Eh?" Netto asked, confused by this.

"Did you know that Princess Pride got a boyfriend and they are about to be engage soon?" Enzan asked, and Netto shook his head and is surprise. "At least did you notice her dancing with someone back at Yaito's party?" he asked.

"… No, I was too busy avoiding Meiru." Netto said, rubbing the back of his head and Enzan sighs.

"It's Laika-kun." Rouge answered and Netto's eyes widens like saucer plates.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" He exclaimed, and the three navis and a human boy nodded. His jaw dropped for the second time.

"Netto-kun… Netto-kun! NETTO-KUN!" Rockman shouts, knocking him out of his stupor. "Are you okay?" his older brother asked.

"Y-yeah… but if Laika does marries her, then that is going to make him… A prince?" Netto exclaimed and everyone in the room nodded.

"It's funny don't you think?" Rouge said and the boys look at her. "No one would think that Pride-chan and Laika-kun are quite a match, or to see the day Enzan-kun would come in good term with his dad and he accepted Sora as his son's girlfriend."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Freeze on that part!" Netto said loudly and they looked at him, as he looks at Enzan. "I thought you and your father never get along." he said.

"Um… yeah, I was getting to that part. " Enzan said and Netto is still staring at him.

"You know, you might burn holes into my boyfriend's head if you keep staring at him like that." a voice called out and they turn once again to see Sora in a gown.

And for the third time of the day, Netto's jaw dropped.

"Nice." Rouge said with a smile, as her NetOp walks down the stairs and seat with Enzan. "Shock?" she asked, looking at the slack-jaw boy and he nodded. "Um… why don't we cut to the chase, so he could understand what's going on."

"Right… After those adventures, accepting the fact that I'm in love with your sister and hiding in fear of rejections… We were not prepared on this new adventure we were forced in, a year ago." Enzan said grimly, and Netto looks at him.

"It all started…" Blues spoke up. "When black men kidnapped us along with others and some families, saved for Laika and Searchman who's in Sharo, Meijin who's on his leave and Rockman who manage to escape into the safety of the SciLab system. We didn't know what happened to our operators after that."

"And to help further into our story, Netto, I'd like you to meet Meer and Persona." Sora said as took out another PET from her small bag and a pair of navis jumps out of it.

The first one looks near similar to Layer back in Reploidian but with short blonde hair and visible purple eyes from her blue visor, she wears a gray jumpsuit with black chest armor, gauntlets and boots. On her head is a light gray headphone, and has a collapsible gun strap at her back.

The second navi is a boy about the size of a toddler and wears a green suit, gloves and boots with a small mixture of red and dark blue. He has a long white tail poking out of his helmet and has a purple visor which is clear enough for anyone to see his eyes. Also his helmet has three horns and Netto could swear that this kid could be the child of Blues and Rouge.

But can Net Navis get pregnant?

"Hello." the female navi said, snapping Netto back to his senses. "You must be Lady Sora's little brother, Netto... I'm Meer, a D-WARD navi and currently SciLab's head security navi."

"Um… nice to meet you, Meer." Netto said.

"Likewise Netto-sama." Meer replied and he looks at his sister.

"Sorry, she's way too formal and Grandpa made her." Sora said, shrugging a bit and moves her hand on the littlest navi "And this is Persona, he is supposed to be a unique navi but his twisted NetOp messed him up and… he is like this now."

Now Netto rubbed his audio receptors a bit when he heard a sad tone in her voice, and flinches when he saw the sad smiles on their faces. "Okay, so tell me what happen?" his voice is now full of concern for the two.

The two looked at one another and they both nodded. "Okay… It all started when-" Enzan began.

* * *

"**I woke up in someone else's life…" **

**

* * *

**

**:::^**_Flashback… a year ago._**^:::**

"Enzan-sama… Enzan-sama." a voice called at the boy in the bed, but he just rolled over and ignored it.

"Enzan-sama, it's time to wake up" but once again ignored.

"Enzan-sama, you're going to be late for school." that waked him up and rubs his eyes.

"What? I don't go to school." he snapped and after rubbing his sleep, he gasped… this wasn't his room. The room he's in is quite small with shelves filled with books and figures, a computer and PET charger on the table near the balcony door. But what shocked him the most… is the PET on the table.

"Rouge…?" he said.

"Hai Enzan-sama?" as the familiar dark blue navi appears but something is not quite right. And a closer look confirms it… she shows no emotion at all. The female navi was quite puzzled on her NetOp's behavior, then again it is wise to shut up.

"W-where am I?" he asked.

"In your room… why is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Yes!" Enzan screeched. "This is not my room! Where's Sora?"

"Sora?" Rouge asked.

"Your NetOp!" he snapped.

"But you're my NetOp." she said and stares at him with worry.

"… Where am I?" Enzan asked.

"You're in the Hikari residence, located-" but Enzan cuts her off.

"That's enough." he said and rubbed his forehead. He thinks a few things over and then… "Rouge… who am I?" he asked.

The female navi made a small smile which vanish in seconds, this made Enzan think that something is definitely wrong in this scenario. Because Rouge is quite an emotional navi similar to another blue navi he knows.

"You're Hikari Enzan, the only child of-"

* * *

"**Whoa! Wait!"**

* * *

"You mean to tell me that you've switched lives with my sister?" Netto asked in surprise.

"Yeah…and it's the worse life I lived in." Enzan added.

"But wasn't So- err… I mean Hikari Enzan a hero since he is living in Sora's life."

"Well…actually-" but Enzan got cut off by Meer.

"It's those filthy net mafia, they defiled the program your grandfather worked hard for." Meer hissed.

"Grandpa made that program?" Netto asked.

"Yeah… after Tadashi-sama died, net crimes all over the world would aim for the projects he left behind. Of course, we D-WARD navis were created to protect that projects from those filthy hands, until his family members decides to take them. We're pretty much doing a good job at it but…" Meer paused and looks at Persona. "He came."

"Huh? But that can he do?" Netto asked, looking at the small navi.

"Netto, like you as a New Generation Reploid, Persona has the ability to copy any form of any navi by just taking a small sample of a navi's data." Sora stated and all Netto could do it to stare at the small navi, who's currently hugging Rouge and telling her how he missed her. "Unlike Cache, who can also create copies, this poor little guy was used for the stolen project."

"What do you mean?" Netto asked.

"I can forgive him for what he did back then, but I cannot forgive his NetOp on what he did to him, to the project and to Lady Sora." Meer said angrily with crossed arms. "She serves right to rot in hell."

"Mind we go back to the story?" Netto asked, hoping this would calm her down.

"I apologize, Netto-sama." Meer said. "I believe you can explain this part, Lady Sora."

"Right…" she muttered, ignoring her reploid brother snickering at her. "So when I woke up in Enzan's life and my memory was modified so I didn't suspect much of a thing. The net mafia was too concentrated on me to notice the program that should change Enzan's memory didn't sink in."

"But why are they concentrated on you?" Netto asked.

"First reason, I have a link with our older brother who tries to contact me but he ends up giving me migraines, they didn't know about it but they found it a disturbance to their plan." Sora said and looks the blue navi who mouthed 'I said I was sorry.' "Second reason, I was having déjà vu moments every time I do something and I always see things out of place. And third, for revenge… they want me to kill Enzan and myself." and he was shock by this.

"Some of the mafia members were former board members of the IPC who didn't accepted Enzan-kun as the vice president, while others are criminals whom they arrested in the past." Rockman explained.

"Let's not forget a loopy heiress who just didn't accept that she lost to Sora." Rouge quipped. "I swear she is a lot worse than Yaito-chan."

"Oh yeah that too." Rockman said.

"Heiress?" Netto asked.

"I'll explain that another time, Netto." Sora said. "As they keep an eye on me, they didn't notice the mistakes they made…"

* * *

"**The fact that Enzan still have his real memories and when they stole one of our grandpa's project… a security navi got snag along. Knowing about my obsession on the supernatural, she sets up a meeting place on the edge of the fabricated town… a haunted bus stop."**

**

* * *

**

"Blues-kun, are you okay?" Sora asked, looking at her partner who got dizzy by impact of the fall. After escaping her bodyguards and running off from a meeting, she immediately went to the said haunted area. But from a block from the area, a force suddenly knocks her PET off her holster.

"Hai, Sora-chan, I'm okay." the red navi said and shook his head.

"That's good." Sora said and sets her PET on the bench, thinking that something is definitely off. "Now wait here, I'm going to take a look on that bus stop."

"Wait! Sora-chan!" Blues shrieked but too late, she's gone.

Sora went around the corner and there she saw the bus stop. It is empty, quite old, dust have covered the seats and there is a hole on the roof. Wanting the see the ghost, she went on the bus stop and sat on one of the seats. She waited…

And then a sound was heard.

PING!

She turns to see a girl, around preteens and wears a overlarge white sweater with a tank top and shorts beneath it, also it covers her hands. She also have brown boots, a strange headphone and she have a rabbit plushy backpack. Her eyes are green and blonde hair, and she seems to be happy on seeing her.

"Hello... what's your name?" she asked.

"Ah… Ijuin Miriku Sora, I'm sure you heard of me, right?" Sora said, but quickly backs away when the girl's eyes narrowed. She once again she went near and looks at her, and she went into a fit.

"How dare they!" she shrieks, causing Sora to jump about a foot. "I let them use this, I let them merge the program with another, I let them put their minds into it but… this… has gone TOO FAR!" she screamed the last part. She then took deep breaths and calms down, she then looks at the slightly freaked out brunette and she smiled once more.

"Sorry… I'm Meer, a D-WARD navi of TerraByte and the protector of this portal." she said and places her hand on the girl's head. "The life you've been living in is a lie… let me return your real memories to you… Hikari Miriku Sora."

* * *

"**TerraByte…? Wait I remember about that…"**

**

* * *

**

"Isn't that the project that would allow the computer to connect to the mind?" Netto asked, although he sounds a bit unsure.

"That's right, but it's much more to that, Netto-sama." Meer confirms it and looks at the redhead. "It's more on bringing the system into the mind, thus unlocking what lies hidden in it… You see what your grandfather intended for the project is to help people with mental illness. It can be use as a prison for it can fool a person thinking he/she is in the real world, but in fact he/she is in his/her inner mind. It is also fatal for what will happen to the person in TerraByte, will also happen in the real world. So if you were killed in TerraByte, your brain will shut down in the real world."

Netto could only stare stiff as he let the information sink in and he twitch a bit. "So how did they cope the fact that they are living in… deep within their minds?" he asked carefully.

"I know Sora can cope any situation that are thrown at her, Enzan-kun however…" Rouge said looking at the dual-hair boy, who just gave her a look and she nodded once. "He couldn't." she stated, placing a hand on the toddler's head beside her.

"You see… Sora is quite forward, optimistic and understanding, it wasn't a problem for her to adapt anywhere. Enzan-kun, however, is reserved, keeps emotions in check and too mature, that spells disaster within the mind." the dark blue navi explained.

"Eh?" Persona asked, tilting his head at the curiously.

"What Rouge meant is… Lady Sora is very open to people and more experienced while Enzan-sama has barriers around him to prevent being harm. But when they are placed in TerraByte, Lady Sora wasn't harm much aside from the modified memories. And Enzan-sama… he was a prisoner by his own barriers and hidden fears within his mind." Meer explained.

"But how did they get out of the TerraByte?" Netto asked.

"The program, TerraByte, has many problems during it's development but the mafia found a solution for that… a gruesome solution." Blues said, looking at Persona with concern. "They used a navi as the very body and mind of that program… and because Persona has the ability to shape-shift…"

"What? That's horrible! How could they do that?" Netto shriek in shock.

"They're blind by revenge, Netto, they're blind." Sora noted, crossing her arm then continues with the story. "After I got my memories back, I decided to act as if I was still under there program and Meer took form of a bird, watching over me. Of course, they didn't suspect her since she was a security navi and part of the program. As I investigate and find a way out, I did notice Enzan is acting weird and I realized that he's the real deal. But I couldn't help him because I was heavily watched, so I've sent Meer to watch over him."

"I wasn't easy for the both of us to move, but we eventually found a temporary solution… by mimicking what the net mafia did to Persona, Lady Sora was able to contact her brother for a short while." Meer said.

"Wait…" Netto said and stares at the D-WARD navi. "You used yourself as the TerraByte?"

"Believe me… her ideas are always risky, but they worked." Rouge noted.

Although the young reploid stuttered about it, he silence himself and listens more on their tale. He soon learn that Meer was able to withstand the pressure of shape-shifting and took form of Sora's inner mind, which happened to take form of the Crouse Farm where she grew up. Meer and Sora's TerraByte hid itself deep within the system, and they created birds to observe the activity in the other. They also gave out clue for Enzan to help out and to give him hope that he's not alone in this.

Rockman then told his side of the story. After the kidnapping, he, Laika and Meijin along with the Net Agents and Raoul were searching for the kidnappers. They learn about the net mafia called Egress, it's activities and they are not much of a big threat till the incident. He tries to communicate with his sister but no response… till she does and they got a breakthrough. Because of that, they found the hideout and saved them.

Meer then added that while they're in the TerraByte, Persona-Blues or P-Blues finds out the truth and decided to help Sora and her friends to get out. Enzan gathered the clues he needed and did a roll call to the others, which ended up a disaster when a serial killer came for him. Throwing the act off, Sora and Meer manage to get Enzan and the others to safety at the haunted bus stop and in their TerraByte. But it crumbles when Persona broke down at the disappearance of his NetOp and Meer could not support hers without his form. Because of that, they have to rush back into the enemy zone and faced creatures with no faces. It wasn't a problem for Sora since she's pretty much used on shifting reality by her will, the only thing is that they are in someone's mind so she can only do little. Sora and Enzan got separated from the group while outrunning the creatures. Then the replicate navis came out of their PETs to protect them, later Rockman, Searchman and the other real navis arrived to get them out.

But not without a price…

Sora witnessed Persona-Blues deletion and Persona-Rouge sacrificed herself on getting them out…

After that… Egress are behind jail and everyone took a week of therapy to heal their mind. But one was still stuck in a nightmare… Enzan. While everyone moves on, he was constantly having nightmares of the times in the TerraByte, the replica navis and his past with his father. Netto did noticed the scars on the dual-boy's wrist, signifying that he tried to commit suicide at that time. A month after that incident, Blues came to Sora's PET to get help for his NetOp, and thankfully she agreed.

Sora then told her side of the story, but not much since Enzan is a bit uncomfortable right now. She told her brother about Enzan's poor state and how she took care of him. A week after watching over him, she went to IPC to talk about it with his father. However, he is currently busy finding something important for his company.

"What? What the hell is more important than Enzan's illness?" Netto asked.

"Ah… err…" Rockman said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Eh he he." Rouge just smiled, while Sora stared somewhere off.

"Sora…" Enzan said, looking at her.

"Um… he was busying… looking a bride for you, Enzan-sama." Blues said sheepishly and Enzan just looks at his navi.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"What Blues said is true, minna-san… and surprisingly, Sora was part of that list." Rockman said, this time, Enzan's jaw drops.

"Well… what do you expect when you're the granddaughter of Hikari Tadashi, the daughter of Hikari Yuuichiro and the niece of a CEO of a high ranking, British company?" Sora asked sourly, crossing her arms in annoyance and looking away while Enzan and Netto are shock at the last part.

"I guess they didn't know mom's side of the family…" Rockman muttered, noticing his brother's and Enzan's shock face. "We'll explain that another time." he added.

Sora then told them about her encounter with Enzan's dad, how she interact with him and her reaction on his answer to her. Enzan smiled and Netto snickered after learning that she did a drop-kick on the CEO's table and broke out of anger, when he answered that watching over his son is a waste of time. After that, she went back and took care of Enzan again till they heard from the SciLab, that a part of his mind as left in TerraByte. Hoping to get him well, they took the risk and dive into the TerraByte once more.

Inside, they found Persona and learned that P-Blues and P-Rouge are part of him, and then they met someone else. It's the memory data of Hikari Enzan, which took form as the new TerraByte and want to kill them. Of course, learning about the truth about TerraByte, they get an edge on the fight. After Enzan confront his counterpart, Yuuichiro downloaded Persona's data and both Sora and Enzan got back safely. And TerraByte… is gone, not a trace of data or notes left behind.

"A week after that, SciLab appointed Meer as the new head security and Persona went into our care. We have to swap him time to time and he seems fine with the changing environment." Sora said, finishing her story.

"I see, but I still don't get how you got his dad to come in good term with him." Netto said, scratching his head.

"Ah…" Blues said, and everyone looks at him. "Let's say, she managed to scare the wits out of him." And the two boys look at one another and looks at her.

"Well… if you can't persuade him, try to scare and impress him." She said with a shrug.

"Netto." Persona said, and Netto looks at the toddler navi which sucking on his hand and held out the other. "Shake."

"Uh… okay." Netto said and lends out a finger for the toddler navi… Then something happens, something glowed on Netto's chest for a second and went to the finger. The light shot at Persona and hit's the icon, sending the small navi back. "Ah!" he yelped in alert.

"Persona!" Blues shouts and catches him as he fell… but why did he felt that he got three?

And the two began crying.

"Blues! Persona! Are you-" Rockman got cut off on what he saw.

"Rockman, is Per-" Rouge also got cut off and the two humans and the young reploid just stared in shock…

In Blues arms are Persona and two baby-type navi which looks like the red navi and Rouge, except they have different colors: Baby "Blues" has a two tone grey jumpsuit and a light blue armor, while Baby "Rouge" has a yellow jumpsuit and wears the old version of Rouge's armor but in orange color. And both are wailing.

"No way…" Netto said.

"It's… Persona-Blues and Persona-Rouge." Sora said weakly.

**:::^*^:::**

Later…

In the limo, Sora is leaning on Enzan as they head for the company ball of GEAS. Both content and smiling.

"Ne, you think Netto and Rockman can handle babysitting Persona and the two babies?" Rouge asked, appearing on her NetOp's shoulder along with Blues.

"I'm sure they can, Rockman has an experience, thanks to Trill… Netto is friendly to kids, but I'm not sure if he have experience on babies." Sora noted, as she sat straight and looks at the two navis.

"But, I'm still wondering… how did Netto separated Persona, P-Rouge and P-Blues?" Enzan asked.

"Well, Netto is a New Generation Reploid and he can copy any mechaniloid or reploid by taking it's DNA. Maybe his copy chip and some of his system sent Persona some data and that happened." Sora guessed.

"I guess we should thank him once we get back from the ball." the dual hair boy said.

"Yeah… we will." she replied with a smile and leans back.

**:::^*^:::**

"Poor sweet thing… they hurt you? Now don't you cry, my dear… Come… I'll help you get your precious back"

With a wicked smile, both vanished into the night.

* * *

Silver: Being gone for a month is bad and can cause plot bunnies to mutate and multiply… Ah! (runs away from the mutated plot bunnies.) I swear, upon the TerraByte part, the story took off on it's own! HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! (Runs to the hill and stops.) … A-anyway, in the later chapters, there will be crossovers for our Hikari triplets to travel into… ack… Okay first is Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Sora, Netto and Rockman will be replacing both Zero and Roll. . And the third world they'll be going is in the Arthurian Legend… (runs to a mountain.) DAMN YOU SONIC! (Runs back to the hill.) Ahem… anyway, I need suggestion on the second world, I'm stump on this one.

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK!**

"This is mad… I tell you, mad." Axl said, as he shoots from the roof.

"Hey, on the bright side, you're not exactly shooting live ones." Sora said, as she threw a grenade.

"How does shooting dead people-" he pause on the explosion and one of the zombies went flying towards them. Good thing, Enzan has a metal pipe and swung it against the zombie, as Axl and Sora ducks. "improves morals for reploids?"

"Think in this way, Netto." Laika said, as he set his shotgun into position. "Mavericks are to reploids as zombies are to human. Mindless and hungry." and shoots.

"But some reploids tend to go maverick on their own will!" Axl shouts.

* * *

Silver: Yep… It's Silent Hill and Left 4 Dead's fault! XD! Don't forget to read and review!


	26. Deadly and Vile

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Deadly and Vile**_

Silver: Lame title, I know… -_-*U

(EDIT: I noticed a few minor mistakes and fixed them... don't worry, they're just minors. ^-^!)

(EDIT2: I forgot that Sora is a horror fanatic! Sorry peeps!)

(Disclaimers: Plata Azul-Firebird does not own any Rockman series and the songs that were featured except for her OCs… And I need a new job and a life.)

* * *

**Deadly and Vile**

"KEEP RUNNING!" Sora shouts as she and the gang runs in fear... well, the boys runs in fear while she runs like she's on a sugar rush with excitement of no reason.

"WHY? WHY DO WE EVEN VOLUNTEERED TO TEST THIS GAME?" Axl screams in fear and anger, while shooting at the sides

"SHUT IT AND KEEP RUNNING!" Laika shouts, and then… moments later, Axl pulls out a rather large rocket launcher from his subspace.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Enzan asked, as he runs beside him and noticing how ridiculously large it is.

"Reploidian, and don't even think about borrowing it." he replied and pulls the trigger. A pair of rockets flies out and lands on a mass group of 'dead people'. Then… a massive creature appears and charges at them, tossing the obstacle or the 'dead people' just to ram and kill them. "Holy crap… head for the hills!" he shouts.

Then all of the sudden, the whole scenery stops like a movie film…

* * *

"**Hold on a minute." Rockman said, as he pops up from below and stares at scenery. "Why is my siblings and the others are fighting dead people?" looking at the screen at his back.**

"**You forgot?" Rouge said, popping in too along with Blues and Searchman.**

"**Well kinda… all I know is that Yaito-chan invited them for something." Rockman said. "You guys know anything about it?"**

**Both red and green navis shakes their heads. "Ummm… suggestion? Why don't we rewind this and find out how our NetOps got into that situation?" Rouge asked.**

"**It's quite an idea but how do you rewind this?" Blues asked.**

"**Like this." Rouge said, she then places her hands on the scenery and pushes it to the right… they disappears and the scenery change.**

**

* * *

**

**:::^**_Flashback… 7 hours ago._**^:::**

In the Ayanokuji Manor…

"Hey guys." Netto greeted, as he and his sister came into the room where Yaito, Enzan and Laika is.

"I'm glad you all came… I have a small problem." Yaito said, as Netto and Sora sits down on the couch and the heiress went into business. "You see I have a game that's suppose to be out right now, but we delayed it because it's missing it's characters along with the main boss."

"Why do I have a feeling that it will be just like that princess game of yours, four years ago…" Netto said.

"Princess game?" Sora asked, looking at her brother.

"Ah… four years ago, viruses kidnapped my main character on that game." Yaito told her. "But this time it's different, all the characters: main, optional and the main boss are gone!"

"Well…" Laika said, looking at the others then at her. "What happened?"

"I have no clue, one moment, we're ready to launch the game and then one of my maids alerted me that all the cast are missing." Yaito said, and the four looks at one another.

"Ummm… find a missing princess four years ago was easy since you based her on you, but finding a whole missing cast… we need all characters descriptions on this one." Netto said and crosses his arms.

"Speaking of missing…" Yaito said. "Have you guys received a call from Roll?"

"Nope, why?" Sora asked and Netto suddenly felt a ball of nervousness is growing in his stomach.

"Well…" Yaito said. "She went missing yesterday."

"What?" Netto exclaimed and stood up, only to be drag down by his sister.

"When did that happen?" Sora asked, as Rouge appears.

'Come to think of it she was acting weird a few days ago, as if Sora is a plague or something.' the dark blue navi thought. 'Not to mention the creepy, dreamy look she was sending to Netto.' she added.

"Just a few hours ago, she called because Meiru was not in bed this morning." Yaito said. "Also some of her stuffs are missing too."

"Kidnap and theft?" Laika asked and Glyde appears on his mistress' shoulder.

"No, there was no force entry and the room in in order except for the said items." Glyde said

There was silence after that… Sora notices Netto is shivering and sighs.

"Well… we better finish her request and head to the Net Police." Sora said and everyone looked at her. "We might find Meiru if we help them on their investigation on missing people." she said with assurance. This gave a calming effect to her brother and relaxes a bit.

And so, Yaito gave the four the files of the characters, thankfully it has full descriptions and the first two can be easily found in a bakeshop's system downtown. The third is found in a park, although they have a little trouble on finding the jack in port in a statue. The fourth and the two optional characters are found in Gabcom and SciLab, the latter, Sora and Rouge manage to stop Meer on deleting that character upon arriving in the lab. Then they found the main boss… in the security of the Ayanokuji manor… and boy did that damn character nearly killed the Net Saviors with killer lawn mowers if it weren't for Netto's advantage.

After that…

"Okay…" said a tired Enzan as he and the team sits down after catching the main boss. "Is that all of them?"

"No." Yaito said, as she came into the room. "Our protagonist is still missing."

"Great…" Netto groans as he fell back on the couch.

"Okay… what does the file says?" Sora asked, as Rouge and Rockman opens the files and scans the protagonist's file.

"Well… the hero is a male, he grew up in a small town, becomes a chosen warrior but prefers to follow his own path." Rouge stated, reading the file.

"A skilled fighter but still learning to handle weapons, a novice magic learner, likes steaks, exploring and sports." Rockman said and looks at the rest of the notes then froze. "…and he likes hunting the undead…" he added.

"Well… we basically check the meat shops but didn't find him there." Laika said.

"And if he's exploring, that's like finding a needle in a haystack." Rouge said, crossing her arms.

"Yaito, do you have any more clues? Hints?" Netto asked and the young heiress shook her head. "Aw man…"

"Wait… the file says that he like to hunt undead, right?" Blues asked and the heiress nodded. "Do you think he's in a cemetery or any horror-related places?"

"Um… I think- Wait! I remember!" Yaito exclaimed and looks at the group.

**:::^*^:::**

"So you're saying that it might be possible that the main character is in this game?" Enzan asked, all of them are staring at the screen were a video clip of the living dead are limping towards the players, and then a huge one appears ramming over them.

"That's right, dad decided to try making horror games and this is the first." Yaito said.

"What's the title of the game?" Sora asked, obviously to the boys, she's excited.

"It's called Mad World(1)." Yaito said.

"**Well, ain't that mad?" **Rouge quipped and looks at Rockman, who's now a bit nervous. She's a bit worried about him since he is afraid of ghost and they have to find the 'protagonist' and get him back into the correct game. 'It has to be a horror game… I pity him right now.' she thought.

Yaito then explains the mechanics and specs about the game, a horror-survival game and it's virtual reality. Enzan looks skeptical at first after seeing the gamepods, but he relaxes a bit after the young heiress reassured him that it's not the same as the TerraByte a year ago. After learning that Mr. Ayanokuji is still looking for beta testers on the game… well, Sora volunteered and drags the boys into it.

'And this is not good for their health' Rouge thought, pitying the boys.

There's only one problem with this game is that the Net Navis are not allowed to assist them since it's a survival game of four players, much to the blue navi's relief. But they are allowed to drop items that could help them in certain locations, so all the players need to do is to find them.

Then they hopped into the pod, Netto is literally thrown into one thanks to his sister, and begun testing the game. Inside, all four woke up in separate places and went out to investigate the empty city. Axl and Enzan were the first to meet, the young reploid found a loophole in the game system and he could summon his armor and guns. On Sora's side, she's in a college dorm, her aim is to get out and to find her brother and her friends. The only thing is that the campus is infested with zombies. Somewhere downtown, Laika finds himself in a police car, grabs a shotgun at the front seat and went out to find the others. It took them a long time but they managed to find one another in the park which led them in their current situation.

Now you know why they're fighting dead people.

**:::^**_In their current situation…_**^:::**

"KEEP RUNNING!" Enzan shouts, as they head into a company building.

"LAIKA! WHY DID YOU BLECH LIKE THAT!" Axl shouts, as he runs beside Sora. "Come to think of it, what happened to your military discipline training?"

"Blame those damn sodas! I need coffee but those damn storage only got sodas!" Laika yelled back as they enters the building and they began to barricade it. After making sure that the entrance can hold the horde, even if for short while, they began looking around the area.

"…O-okay, now what?" Axl asked.

"Well, by the summary of the game, the said plague came from a virus which is in research by a medical research company called Parasoul(2)." Enzan explains and looks at the group. "I think we should find out more of it and then get out of this place."

"But with those zombies out there, I doubt we can get out of this building without getting bitten." Sora said skeptically, and stares at the barricaded entrance.

"Umm… does the Parasoul logo looks like a snapshot of a gold and silver umbrella above?" Laika asked.

"Yeah… how did you know that?" Enzan asked and Laika just points at the huge metallic logo of the said company that hangs just behind the reception desk, along with the company's name on it. "Oh." he stated.

"That was lucky, we're in the lion's den." Sora quipped sarcastically before putting some new ammos in her gun.

"Uh… Sora… if you haven't thought about it." Axl said as he looks around nervously and the three looks at him. "If we're in the enemy's base, then…"

They heard a roar and everyone jumps in fright, as a huge groups of zombie dogs came rushing in. Wanting to rip and devour them.

"Head for the hill!" Axl yelps in fear, before running off with the three to the top floor.

**:::^*^:::**

Somewhere is the distance…

A light lands in the middle of the streets and takes form of a armored figure with a shoulder cannon…

"… How morbid." a female voice said as she stares at the group of zombies coming toward her. "A perfect place to slay a witch."

**:::^*^:::**

"This is mad… I tell you, MAD!" Axl exclaimed, as he shoots from the balcony. 'Now I know why they called this game: Mad World…' he thought sourly.

"Hey, on the bright side, you're not exactly shooting live ones." Sora said, as she threw a grenade.

"How does shooting dead people-" he pause on the explosion and one of the zombies went flying towards them. Good thing that Enzan has a metal pipe, which he stashed in his pack, and swung it against the zombie as Axl and Sora ducks. "improves morals for reploids?"

"Think in this way, Netto." Laika said, as he set his shotgun into position. "Mavericks are to reploids as zombies are to human. Mindless and hungry." and shoots.

"But some reploids tend to go maverick on their own will!" Axl shouts, Laika looks at him and then at Sora.

"I agree on what he says!" Sora stated and stands up to shoot at the "flying-tentacle" creature. And then all of the sudden, an explosion went off above them and the balconies above them are falling towards them.

"Look out!" she yelled and she runs to the left. She then trips and rolls to a corner to evade the dust and smoke, then she felt a body cover her to protect her more. After the destruction, she looks around and saw Enzan is the one who gave her cover. She blush a little on the full body contact and the closeness of their faces. After making sure it's safe, he got up and helps her. "Um… Thanks." she said sheepishly.

"You're welcome." He replied with a smile. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but what about-" she got cut off.

"Oi! Sora-nee! Enzan! Are you guys okay?" Axl shouts… at the other side of the balcony.

A huge part of the balcony collapse and there is no way to cross it. Unless an idiot wants to take a fall directly to the horde of zombies below, they must think of a good way to get back together. Axl suggested that it wouldn't be a problem for him to cross, since he got dash thrusters and he can hover. The only thing is… Laika is with him and he got a minor wound on his left arm and a split chin. The problem is that if Axl crosses, he will leave him behind and defenseless. If Axl carries him, one miscalculation will send both boys down into the horde. And if there's a barrier, like the ones they encountered before they met, that's going to be bad. So, the redhead decided to see if he can cross the huge gap, he took a few steps back and dashes towards the edge. He jumps and activates his thrusters to hover… but upon reaching the middle, he hit a barrier, knocking the wind out of him and lost his balance. Thanking the fact that he is now a reploid, he sticks to the wall and did a wall climb. When he reached the limit of the barrier, he actives his thrusters and hovers back to Laika.

"Are you okay?" Laika asked as Axl lands near him.

"Yeah, but there's a damn barrier and we can't cross." Axl said.

"Axl-kun! Are you okay?" Sora shouts, nearly having a heart attack on her brother's too-close experience.

"Yeah! But we need to find another way!" Axl shouts and then… "Hey… why don't we contact Rockman?"

"Net Navis are not allowed in the game! How can we contact him?" she replied.

"By our link! Sora! Our link!" Axl stated out and his sister blush a little for being forgetful.

'Oh… I forgot about that.' she thought, as Axl tries to contact Rockman.

"_Rockman, are you there?" _Axl called, but nothing… his brother didn't respond. _"Rockman! … Sora, I can't call him."_

"_Hold on, let me try…" _Sora told him and concentrates. _"Rockman, this is Sora, can you hear me?"_

Silence…

"_Sora! Are you okay?" _Rockman called out, the triplets are slightly relieved that the link is working. _"Is Netto-kun all right? I mean he did hit the barrier."_

"_Wait… how did you know that?" _Axl asked, finally able the connect and looking a quite surprise on this one.

"_We were watching you on the screen… which, by the way, Sora… you are such a loose killer on the zombies." _Rockman said, and she blushed by this. Axl asked about it and their older brother replies. _"She killed zombies with guns. chains, chainsaws, a pickaxe, a lawn mower, a guitar, some screwdrivers, kitchen items, gas and fire, and the list goes on…"_

And her blush grew, as Axl stares at his sister. "You're violent…" he mouths at her.

"Nut it or shut it!(3)" she hissed at her brother, which earns her a pair of staring eyes from both human boys. _"Anyway, we need a little help here."_ Sora contact him again and ignoring her comrades.

"_You need more items?" _Rockman asked.

"_That… and a walkthrough, we need to know where we need to go." _Sora said, as they look around the area.

"_Hold on, I'll ask the game developer about the last one." _Rockman said, then there is a moment of silence before he replies. _"As for the items, we placed them in the fire exit in Netto's side and in the elevator on Sora's."_

"_Right" _Both sibling answered.

Both pairs agreed to meet at the top, they went on their separate ways and got the items that their navis sent.

**:::^*^:::**

Both Sora and Enzan equip their rifle and dual guns while stashing the first aid kit as they ride in the elevator. Then they heard a loud ping and elevator doors opens, revealing a hallway filled with zombies.

"Um… wrong floor." she said sheepishly and quickly presses the close button. But the zombies noticed them and charges towards them. Both Net Saviors have to shoot a lot to stop them till the doors close.

Once the doors close and the elevator begins to move. "That was random." Enzan said.

"Well… it will either gets worse or at least a little better on the next floor." Sora said.

"I only hope that we could find this protagonist and get out of this game." Enzan said, as he set his rifle with a new clip.

**:::^*^:::**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Axl asked after thirty flight of stairs(4), noticing Laika is getting tired.

"Yeah…" Laika said as he shoulder his rifle and switch his hand gun in his other hand. "We better hurry, find that damn character and get out of this game."

As the Sharo soldier walks pass him, Axl stood there and looks at him strangely. "You know, every time you swear, I just couldn't help to be a little surprise." the redhead quipped and follows him.

"Well… you have to blame your sister on that." Laika said, as they climb. "Her damn attitude kinda rubbed on us."

Axl chuckled on that. "Well, she's blunt." he said.

"Yeah, with her kind of bluntness makes me want to bite her head off back then." Laika said with a smile and then his world became dark.

"ACK! Hold on, Laika!" Axl shrieks in panic, when a giant worm engulfs the soldier's head completely. The young hunter scrambles quickly on finding the right equipment and then… Laika hears a slash and he fell on the floor, as the worm let out a loud roar of pain and retreats. He sat up and began pushing the thing off his head, Axl helps and manages to get it off. The Sharo native leans over and began spitting out the slime that got into his mouth.

One thing he describes about it is: Disgusting.

"Are you all right?" Axl asked, dropping the worm's head and bent down to make sure his partner is okay.

"I'm fine." Laika said and got up. Then they jump that sound of roar echoing off the walls

"Well… try not to say something that would jinx us." Axl said as he stash the sword he used in his pack and the soldier nodded, they began climbing up again.

**:::^*^:::**

"_Netto-kun! Sora-chan! Are you there?" _Rockman called.

"_Rockman!/Saito!" _Both sibling called.

"_Hey, I got something." _Rockman said. _"All of you will need to go up to the CEO office in the top floor, there you'll find something about the plague. Then something will happen which will cause all of you to enter a secret elevator and enter underground."_

"_The whole game is scripted?" _Sora asked.

"_No wonder there were barriers." _Axl mused.

"_Anyway, you guys need to go there because that's where you will all meet." _Rockman said.

"_Okay./Got it." _Both siblings said and then…

"_Um, Rockman… can you give me a bug spray, a big one? Because there are huge bugs in this floor." _Axl requested.

**:::^*^:::**

Following Rockman's instruction, the two pairs meet on the CEO's floor and enters the office. There, they found a brunet, in medieval looking clothes, trap in a bubble and looks quite frustrated because the zombies are outside. The undead are surrounding him, trying to destroy the bubble and the brunet couldn't kill them because of the bubble. The group just stood there, while the zombies focused on getting the bubble-trap brunet.

"Huh…" Axl said, after seeing the missing character. "At least he's protected."

After saying that, they began shooting at the undead. The shoot stops after the last zombie fell and Sora calls Rockman that they found the main character. As the downloading process begins, the boys began barricading the office for any more zombies and Sora checks the computer. She remembers the password and began looking at the files, while Axl found where the hidden elevator is.

"Sora, let's go." Enzan called out. "We found the main character, time to exit the game."

"Aw…" Sora said disappointingly, as the bubble disappears along with the main character. "And I was about to solve about the plague." she pouts.

"You'll get to play the game next time, as for now, we need a break from all this." Laika said.

"Fine." Sora said and she contacts her brother to tell Yaito to get them out.

However…

"Oookay… shouldn't we be out of this game 15 minutes ago?" Axl asked.

"_Sora! Netto-kun! Something is wrong with the game, we couldn't get you guys out!" _Rockman called out in alert.

"WHAT?" Sora and Axl yelled in unison, and the two boys nearly jumped at their sudden outburst.

"_What do you mean you can't get us out?" _Axl asked in shock.

"_Somebody hacked the game!" _Rockman said. _"We're trying our best to find the intruder, but it got itself in the game."_

"_Saito, is there anyway to get out of the game?" _Sora asked, as Axl explains the situation to Enzan and Laika, who's faces became surprise on the information they learned.

"_No… the only way is to finish the game." _Rockman said.

"_Dang…" _Sora muttered.

"Uh… Sora." Axl said as he nervously backs away and his sisters looks at him strangely. "B-behind you." he added.

And the brunette turns to see a purple figure in the air and aims it's shoulder cannon at them. "Oh crap." she said and runs as the figure fired a pair of missiles at them. Axl and the boys quickly push the bookshelf away, revealing the hidden elevator and everyone hops into it. Sora quickly pushes the close button and the doors closes. Everyone fell on the floor as they catches their breaths… but Axl and Sora stares at one another with shock etched on their faces.

"T-that's…" Sora said, voice shaking a little.

"… It's Vile." Axl finished as the elevator descends toward the underground lab.

**:::^*^:::**

After discussing Vile to Enzan and Laika, they continue to play to finis and get out of the game. They first venture around the lab, solving puzzles, finding key items and survivors (which got eaten later on.) and, of course, killing zombies. Then they found out that the government is about to launch a pair of nuclear missiles to Fox City, and they have half an hour to get out or game over. To their luck, Enzan discovers a underground train and if they board it, the game finish and they could get out.

But they must find a way to fix the engine and the key to start the train.

And so they once again split up in pairs, the Hikari siblings went to find the items to fix the engine. And Enzan and Laika went to find the key. Both pairs found the said items and regroup later on.

To their relief, they didn't encounter the said renegade but they did encounter a different kind of Vile… The brunette remembered it from the computer that there is a experiment going on with the virus, and the steel-plated armor, machine gun-totting zombie is one of them(5).

"Okay… that is insane." Laika said, panting a lot after defeating Vile the zombie.

The group is thankful for the game developer to create a pair of ultimate weapons that could kill the monster, although there is a difficulty on getting it. After defeating the monster, the group went to the underground train and Sora began fixing it with the items they found.

"Hey… are you done yet?" Axl said, as he's doing guard duty, in case of stray zombies, and heard a gong .

"Netto, it's not easy wiring this train without getting your head hit on the plating." Sora said sourly.

"Sorry." Axl apologizes.

"Okay, it's done." Sora said, she climbs out of the hatch and closes it. "Enzan-kun! Start the train!"

The three take their seat while Enzan starts the train, slowly the train begins to move… "Yes! We finish the game!" Axl said cheerily, Sora smiled but it quickly disappears and then tensed a bit. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"… Usually, in the final scene, the boss will not allow the protagonists to escape freely." Sora said nervously, and the three boys looks at one another before they heard something behind them. Equipping their guns once more and they are ready to kill the monster again.

… But.

"My, my, what a welcoming committee." a female voice said and the four lowers their gun in surprise. But they raise their gun again when the stranger enters the cabin.

"Vile!" Axl snarled and kept his guns at the said renegade, he didn't notice the differences but Sora and the two boys does.

Vile's jumpsuit is still black and his armor is purple and gold with a few traces of green on it. Of course, there is still the trademark shoulder cannon of his and a buster cannon on the right arm. But the difference the three saw is that Vile now looks a lot slender, thinner and…

Is wearing a skirt and a pair of high heels?

'What the-?' Sora thought but kept her dual guns at the purple renegade. She slowly moves near her brother and nudges at his arm. He didn't move till she literally threw him off his aim on the purple renegade.

"Hey!" Axl yelps, then she yanks his head low.

"Um… Did you notice something odd on Vile?" She whispered at him and he looks at her. "Did you notice that he is wearing a skirt and high heels?"

And that set an alarm off in his head, he takes another look and did notice the said changes. "What the-?" he said.

"Like what you see, Netto-kun?" 'Vile' asked, and they look at the renegade but both siblings then realize whose voice is speaking.

"No way…" Sora whispered, as the renegade raise the hands

"I-it can't be…" Axl stuttered a little and the purple navi grasp the helmet and takes it off. Everyone gasps in shock, the helmet disappear into data as the dark pink hair flows down her shoulder. A purple visor covers her brown eyes, which is revealing enough to see her glare directing towards the brunette.

"Meiru?" Axl muttered in shock, and the cross fused girl smiled at him.

"Meiru, how did you get in the game?" Laika demanded for answer, he sensed something is not right in this situation and it came from her. Her gaze shifts to look at him, he nearly dropped his gun at the blank look she as giving him… but he soon learns…

That the Meiru they all know…

"I came to slay the witch." she replied.

Has lost it.

Shoulder cannon took aim and fires, Sora and the others dodges away as the shot hit's the back door. They look at the gaping hole behind them and saw a slimy creature wailing in pain before dying. "Well… that was convenient." Sora quipped.

"Aw…" CF Vile said and the groups looks at her. "I was suppose to open the door and let the creature in, so I can get my love away from the filthy witch." in a childish voice.

"You overdid it, you moron." Vile said thru their comm link.

"Vile, don't be a meanie." CF Vile whined, and Axl stares at her with shock. "We're supposed to be partners."

'Since when did Vile agreed to be her Net Navi?' Axl thought. He knew Vile from X and Zero's stories and encountered him since the 8th maverick war, he also know that Vile likes to work alone and despises to work with a human.

But now he's a navi… why Meiru?

"Pffft… yeah right, you slut." he snarled while CF Vile could only smile.

"You want to beat X, don't you?" CF Vile in a sing-song voice and her partner went silent.

"Just get this thing over with!" Vile yelled at her.

"YAY!" she cheers and begins her rampage.

She unleashes a lot of attacks which the team tries to avoid, but it is not a battle the girl bought to them… it's a war. They were thankful to the fact that the last boss in the game is dead, which allows them to run straight into the next cabin and to the other with ease. As they enter another, Enzan and Sora takes cover behind the table while Axl shoves Laika under another table, as he tries to distract her without hurting her. "Meiru-chan! Stop this!" he shouts at her, he shoots but never actually aiming at her.

"Netto-kun…" CF Vile said, stopping for a moment before she scowls and launch a Rumbling Bang at Sora. Seeing this, Enzan pushes her out of the way and receives the hit fully.

"Enzan!" the three shouts.

"How dare you control my Netto-kun!" the cross fused renegade screamed at the brunette, ignoring the fact that she killed Enzan and shoots Fire Murrain at them. The three notice this and quickly dash away from it's range, then once Axl got near at CF Vile…

SLAP!

Time seem to stop as she felt the sting of the slap given by the one she loved the most. "Stop this right now! Meiru!" Axl screams at her.

But…

"Look out!" Laika shouts and pushes both Sora and Axl away, then a lightsaber pierces thru his torso. Both siblings screams at their friend, as the saber went up and slices thru him. And CF Vile… has a pair of wide eyes and a lewd smile on her face.

"I will save my dear Netto-kun from you and your minions, witch!" CF Vile shrieks and then suddenly the cabin become warp. The sibling notice that they are now in a dark multicolored room and the items around them looks so stretched and badly shaped.

"Netto-kun…" CF Vile called out, the two turns to see her but…. She's gone. "Your princess is going to save you." she said.

"Sora! Look out!" Axl shouts and got her out of the way when a Cerberus Phantom is aimed at her. He raise his guns again and began shooting at the source… but only heard a laugh and then another attack in which he pick up his sister and avoids it. This repeats for a few times, and he didn't notice his sister's… well…

"Tch…!" Axl said before…

WHAM!

Axl is squealing in pain and holding his nose, while Sora's right fist is smoking. "Oi, I can defend myself you know." she said, a bit annoyed.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO HIT ME ON THE FACE!" Axl yelled at her. He mentally thank god because he is a reploid, which means less damage on his artificial face. Then both siblings manage to dodge the Popcorn Demon and shoots at the source once more.

Once again… laughter.

"Damn…" Axl said and then squeals in pain when his sister hits him on the head again. "Why did you do that for?"

"You're not the only one, dimwit." Sora scowls and scans the distorted area. Axl stared at her till her words sank into realization that…

She's also guilty on the situation…

"Sora-nee…" he whispered and she smiled.

"Don't fret, I'm still here, right?" She asked, then they heard a click.

"Not for long." A voice said and Sora yelps in pain as she was hit by the side by a Infinity Gig. Sora felt her air was forced out and falls painfully on the ground wincing in pain, trying to get air in her lungs. Axl saw this and rushes to his sister, only to be grabbed behind by CF Vile.

"Oi! Let go of me!" Axl shouts, and elbows her but only to miss and got hit on the head by the shoulder cannon. "Ow…" he winces. 'Seriously, what's up with me and getting-hit-on-the-head-thing lately?' he thought sourly.

"My dear prince charming." CF Vile said, hugging him by the back and nuzzling his shoulders. Ignoring Vile's gagging sounds, she leans over and said. "Let's go… to our palace."

BANG!

"Sorry, delusional princess…" Sora said, holding her brother's Axl Bullet and has a determined smile on her face, as the cross fused renegade's shoulder bleeds. "But I'm not allowing you to take my little brother away, you'll just have the worst happy ending if you did."

"You-!" CF Vile snarled but is cut short when she felt something went into her body and burst out of her chest. The cross fused girl looked down to see a side of her chest armor is broken, data floating around it and blood dripping down on her mouth. She turns to see Axl, one of his gun pointing at her, shaking a bit, sweating and is angry at her.

"Sora-nee!" Axl shouts and rushes to his sister's side.

CF Vile watches with wide eyes as the young reploid completely passes her by. Her world stops, she couldn't hear the train's engine nor Vile's constant shouting. All her focus is on _her_ Netto and that_ witch_.

"Sora-nee, are you okay?" Axl asked.

"Yeah, but since when did you decided to add "nee" on my name?" Sora asked, as she sits up.

"You're my sister, older sister by some few minutes, duh." Axl stated the obvious and she cracks a smile, but then she winces a bit.

"Is your side okay?" Axl asked, looking at her wound.

"Yeah… it's not that deep, but it is hurtful." Sora said and he helps her up.

Then they suddenly jump in surprise when a electrical current suddenly flashed around them, and Axl covers his sister to protect her fragile side. Although he confirms the wound is not that deep, but if anything happens and hits that… it's going to be fatal. The two then notice Meiru is giving off the currents and she stands up. She stares at them and grinned.

"Mine." she uttered, and walks towards them. "Mine, mine, mine." she said in a mantra as she points her buster cannon at them. "The witch must be slay."

"Little princess!" a voice called out, this caused Meiru to freeze and for Sora and Axl to look around.

Then suddenly a flash of light blinds them and then…

**:::^*^:::**

BAM!

Both brother and sister squealed in pain when they hit something hard on their forehead, and then the light blinded them for a second.

"Sora! Netto! Are you okay?" Laika asked, as he checks them.

Remembering that they are testing a horror-survival game, Sora and Netto took off their visors and hops out of the capsule. "We're fine." Sora replied.

"That's a relief." Enzan said, who's beside Yaito who was still in shock on what she saw. They couldn't blame her, anyone can be shock on the fact that one of their friend is hunting them.

Then on cue, the huge screen that was showing the trailer of the game became snowy… before it replace of a familiar image. "Meiru!" Yaito shouts and everyone gasps.

"So much for the finale." the pink hair girl said, now out of her cross fusion. "Next time… a happy ending for me." with an insane grin and a giggled. "Wait for me my prince!"

"Hey!" Netto shouts and Meiru looks at him. "If you hurt my sister or anyone I care about… I…"

'Netto.' the Net Saviors and Yaito thought.

"You… you will what?" Meiru asked, tilting her head cutely.

"I will stop you… no matter what, I will stop you." Netto said, not looking at his former childhood friend. Meiru stared at him for a while and shrugs, she cheerfully announce that she'll be waiting with open arms before the screen became fuzzy snow. After that, he fell on the floor, tears sliding down on his face. Sora and the others came to his side and tries to comfort him, but he waves it off. "It's okay… I'm fine." Netto said.

'Netto.' both Rockman and Sora thought, as the young reploid stands up and took his PET.

**:::^*^:::**

After retrieving the missing characters, the Net Saviors heads back to the Net Police HQ in Enzan's limo. As they head back, Netto sulks near the car window, his chin is on his hand and is staring out blankly. The three humans looks at one another, occasionally nudging one to break the silence and glaring one another as if saying no-you-do-it.

"Ne…" Netto voiced out, making everyone in the limo freeze. "Can we head to a curry house? I'm getting hungry."

"Ah… o-okay." Enzan said, and instructed his driver to change course. Sora stares at her brother, he sighs and looks at her straightly.

"I'm okay." Netto said with assurance and a small smile.

"But she's…" Rockman said, appearing on his brother's shoulder.

"My… feelings for her is gone, Rockman." Netto said and the blue navi stares at him. "It died along with my old body." he then breathe out. "Still even though I don't love her, I still care. So I want to stop her from hurting anyone and herself, no matter what."

"I see…" Sora said and a small smile form on her face, she then lean back into her seat. "It might take long, so don't strain yourself, kay?"

Both human boys look at her strangely, then…

"Ha, ha, sure thing, Sora-nee." Netto said, smiling back. "After all, you are always watching my back." he said.

And the two boys looks at each other, wondering how the young reploid have gotten over this dilemma while the two blue navis just smiled.

'It seems like they're okay… for now.' Rouge thought and then looks outside. 'But still… when did Vile and Meiru got paired up? And why did he cooperate with her? And that voice…'

But as of now, they realized that they need to eat since they were stuck in those pods for 10 long hours.

* * *

Silver: Another long chapter, I swear from the point of CF Vile vs. Net Saviors, this part went on it's own… Plus, for Meiru fans, don't kill me but I really dislike that girl... Damn you mutated plot bunnies… (grumbles). Anyway, please vote for the second world crossover!

(A) Sonic the Hedgehog (I love this game but it died afterwards, it came back to me on the Black Knight game… which explains the third world.)

(B) Detective Conan and Magic Kaito (This anime came back into my life and thrilled me with mysteries with no end. Plus the addition of Kaito KID and the 14th movie waiting to be subbed… meh you know.)

(C) Teen Titans (Sora and Netto are teenage heroes, nuff said.)

Silver: Among these three only one will be chosen as a second crossover, now time for references:

**

* * *

**

**References!**

1. Mad World - it came from Adam Lambert during the final showdown in American Idol. It is fitting, you know.

2. Parasoul - actually, it's parasol and it another term of Umbrella… you guys know which game I'm pointing at.

3. Shut it or nut it - the actual quote is "Shut up or nut up", that came from the movie called Zombieland. Scary but funny movie… Axl/Netto gets the Zombie Kill of the Week for that ridiculously huge bazooka of his. XD!

4. Near endless flight of stairs - Final fantasy VII, nuff said.

5. Vile the Zombie - think of a horrible looking Nemesis… if you don't know Nemesis, search up Resident Evil 3.

* * *

Silver: and finally… SNEAK PEEK!

**

* * *

**

**SNEAK PEEK**

"Okay… detective, football player, gymnast, scientist, magician and singer?" Netto said, as he and Sora hangs out in her room. As she tinkers a piece of machinery for Netto's new charging capsule, and the net navis are on their chargers... "Seriously, how can you handle all of this?"

"Well… It's the price for being a genius, you should know." Sora said sourly and replaces a small bulb and a few circuits. "I mean, come on, don't you think I will suspect the slightly improve security system in the Hunter's HQ, back in Reploidian? You're smart like me."

"I'm not a genius like you… I'm still having problems on it because of the lack of programs I need." Netto said.

"But it doesn't mean that you're not that smart, you're a late-bloomer and you just lack the resources." Rockman points it out. "Plus being a genius doesn't mean that person is perfect, I mean, Sora is a genius but she can't drive, painting and sculpture is not her thing, and she sucks on household chores except cooking."

"Geez…" Sora said and turns to look at them. "Don't forget that I was the phantom thief, Blue Magic."

"Oh… and that- WHAT?" Rockman exclaimed on that and Sora grinned as she takes out a blue mask from her drawer, showing to them the proof that she and the said thief are one and the same. "Y-you!"

"What can I say?" Sora said, shrugging and then hiding her mask. "I like trying new things."

'My… my sister has a lot of odd side-jobs.' Netto thought with a twitching smile and sweat dropping on the side.

* * *

Silver: Hee, hee, hee, time to give these siblings a break from all the stress and it's time for other skills to shine. You know the drill! Read and review!


	27. Odd SideJobs

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Odd Side-Jobs**_

Silver: And the result of the contest is… A tie between Sonic the Hedgehog and Detective Conan/Magic Kaito! And with that, time to boot out the Teen Titans… sorry guys, but you lose. "boots the teen superheroes out." Okay, since only these two left, I'm going to consult my old co-fan writer of mine… she's is the one to introduced me to fan fiction, she's the one who introduced me to yaoi (whistles on the side), and she's the one to pushed me into writing stories. I like you to meet an ex-fan fiction writer, Syber Cam!

Syber Cam: (when the whole speech is underlined, it means Syber Cam is writing.) Hello, Cam here.

Silver: It's been long, Cam-nee. (Yes, I call her that, because despite she's a year younger, she discovered fan fiction first before me. Also she writes fan fictions in different sites while I found FF net.) And yes, we're hanging around in her house, if you guys are wondering.

Cam: Anyway, today is something special because of two authors… well… author and ex-author. And… I will also be the judge of the second world crossover.

Silver: That's right, because for this and the next two chapters will be written by two authors… "Squeals" Partnership revive!

Cam: Errr… right, there's a reason why I'm doing this.

Silver: Cam-nee is going to move to a new country next summer… "then runs to the hill and spazzes on why she held back a year in college and why is she going to move." WHY?

Cam: I'm completely retiring on writing stories to focus on finding a job and moving out, when will I come back to write the answer is… never will. Although, I'm free to read and review, but not that much and only in free time. So before I head off into the unknown, I decided to write one last time and by luck I found my old co-writer on the way to the university.

Silver: Oya, oya, are you saying that you're smarter than me?

Cam: I'm just saying that if you stop procrastinating a lot, then you'll get things done.

Silver: Meanie… anyway, enjoy this chapter!

**Added note: **

"Blah blah" - normal (Japanese) conversation

**"Blah Blah" - English (American)**

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird and Syber Cam does not own Rockman or any of it's series.)

* * *

**Odd Side-jobs**

A week after the encounter with Meiru and her new partner, Vile, everyone is shocked to learn about it. Meiru's parents cried and wondered if they raised her wrong, while Roll wishes Netto and Sora to bring her home, safe and sound if they can. To Dekao, Tohru and the others don't want to believe it but in the end, they have to accept it. Because of that, the siblings are tired and are quite distracted from breaking the news about Meiru's betrayal to her family and closes friends. To give them a break, the commissioner gave the Net Saviors a week off and Yuuichiro decided to give his children a trip to Kansas to vist their aunt.

For Sora, she is thrilled to visit her aunt again and Rouge is couldn't agree more. The dark blue navi definitely wants to show off her new and improve self to the others. Netto and Rockman are glad, but they are somewhat disturb about the incident a week ago.

Yuuichiro worries that his sons might not get over that…

However, looking at his daughter… 'I think they'll be fine as long as she does not do anything risky.' he thought, sweat dropping when he saw her packing hair dyes and stuffs he does not want to know. 'Okay… it's a good thing I've sent them on this trip, I do not want to have the employees' or my hair dyed.' he added.

**:::^*^:::**

Upon arriving at the airport, the triplets and Rouge bids their parents and friends farewell and to see them again after a week.

And that's when Netto learns something more about his sister… on the day they met, he only knows Sora is a skilled Net Battler and fighter, with a drawing and boarding skills to boot yet a bad luck on driving.

But now…

He sees different parts of her, starting with…

**:::^*^:::**

The metal detector went off and Netto sighs as he whips out the papers again to the security. After confirming the form and goes free, the metal detector went off when Sora went thru it. "Ah… hold on." she said, and takes out some metal rings. After that, she went thru it again and it went off. "Ah… wait."

Then the next thing the elder and younger Hikaris' knew, there's a pile of doodads such as cards, flowers, coins, rings, keys and their key chains, sticks, random battle chips, pocket watches on the table, and some random animals like doves, turkeys, rabbits and a puppy running around the airport.

**"J-j-just get all this stuffs and get the hell out of here."** The security said, both stunned and annoyed as she smiled and packs her stuff except for the animals which she set free outside. After that she heads toward her stun brothers who then shook out of it when she stood beside Netto.

"Uh Sora… what the hell was that?" Rockman asked.

"That, my dear Onii-chan, is a secret a magician NEVER reveals." Sora said with her a finger on her lips.

She's a magician for one.

**:::^*^:::**

After arriving in the airport, they head to the farm in Cottonwood Falls, in Chase Country by taxi. Upon arriving there, they saw their aunt and uncle, 3 teenage boys in different ages, a pair of men, a pulp woman and the robots that Sora built for the farm. All of them greeted her with hugs, as Netto takes the bags out of the trunk. The redhead smiled as his sister is being buried by their relatives' hugs.

"**Hey." **Netto turns to meet a 13 year old boy, with black hair and brown eyes, staring at him. **"Who are you?"**

"**Ah… I'm Netto." **the young reploid said as he place the bags down and shuts the trunk. **"I'm also your cousin and…"**

"Oi! Netto-kun! Come here so you meet Auntie Mio!" Sora called, waving at him to come near her and their aunt.

"**She happens to be my sister." **Netto added before he picks up the bags and went to his sister.

After meeting the relatives, their aunt explained them the house rules and stuffs around the farm. The triplets (although Rockman is stuck in his PET) then picks up their bags and heads for their room, Sora's room is left intact and that where they are going to sleep. To Netto's surprise, the room is messy compared to her room back in DenTech. There are tools, machine parts and boxes scatters around the floor, he consider it a miracle that there are no oil spills or stains on the carpet. Nevertheless, this is not a room of a girl on first look. When Netto asked about it, Sora told him that she is not much into household chores till…

"Yeah right!" Rouge quipped. "If I remember correctly, the vacuum exploded while cleaning the living room!"

"Hey! That vacuum was evil!" Sora stated in defense. "It planned a kamikaze on me!"

"Sora… you're a jinx when it comes to household chores." Rouge said and the added. "It's a miracle that you can cook though."

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean!" Sora shouts at her navi while Netto just set their bags down and clears some parts away, to pull out the sofa bed.

She's not much on household chores, he noted

**:::^*^:::**

After arranging and setting their stuffs in their room, the triplets and Rouge went out to explore the farm.

On the entire first day, the triplets have met farm animals and some farm robots. There are times the robots stares in wonder at Netto because he's unique and can make decision of his own, which the redhead tends to get creep out by their stares. They then enter the stable and Sora is happy to see her horse once more, yet she is disappointed that she couldn't ride her since she's too old. Rockman met some program in the stable's system and Berlin EXE, who's one of the cousins' navis. Netto took a liking on a certain horse, but he couldn't ride due to his status as a reploid.

Want to break a horse's back?

Then they met Josh, the eldest of the three cousins in the farm, he has a short wavy, dark brown hair, matching eyes, and is coming home from work. When he meets the triplet, he gave his new cousin a tour of the areas outside the farm. Their other two cousins, Paul and Ren, went off into town to run an errand.

"Netto, this is Josh, our eldest cousin in the family. He's an average guy with an incredible luck of surviving dangerous situation, yet have no luck on scoring a girlfriend though." Sora noted it to her brother, and she receives a whack on the head from Josh while Netto sweat drop at this. The New Gen Reploid then later learns that Josh is a fire fighter and owns Berlin.

After seeing all the areas in the farm, they calls it a day.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day, Sora gave her brothers a tour of her old hometown and then settled in a ice cream parlor for a break. Their cousins are busy with farm work, though they are whining on why Sora and her brother have more free time till their aunt's glare shuts them up.

The brunette then explains the strange flavors and weird challenges the shop offered. Like which is the nice cone and the yuck cone, the challenge is to guess which of the two ice creams is the REAL ice cream. The brunette said that she lost once when she tasted a booger flavored one, and still she wonders how they make those nasty stuffs.

And then, out of the blue, a police officer suddenly came, drag the brunette away and is shouting about the "case solver."

"Ah! Sora!" Netto yelped and runs after them.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile…

"**Kelly Mason, age 25, a race driver, died by beheading…"** the inspector said, after inspecting a almost burnt, headless body and shuts the book. **"Obviously, killers are getting a lot more smarter these days." **as he rubbed his forehead.

He then looks at the potential suspects: a friend, a mentor and an engineer, each has their own alibi and connection to the victim. The friend gave her a good luck and confess his love to her, is now crying for her death. The coach, who treated the female daughter as if his own, looks away from the body. And the engineer, who likes her because of her enthusiasm on cars, griefs on the side as a blanket covers her body.

"**Here, you forgot the head." **a brunette said, giving the forensic the decapitated head.

"**Oh, thanks- AH!" **one of the forensic team screamed at the smiling girl, and everyone turns to see…

"**SORA!" **they screamed, as she sighs and Netto appears afterwards with the officer, who's now sporting a black eye.

"Geez, Sora-nee, are you this popular?" Netto asked, a bit surprise and annoyed at the same time. After he given a black eye to the officer, Rouge asked what's going on and the officer pleaded for help on solving a case. At first, she said she on vacation then the officer bribed her on a rare classic horror movie he got from the city. She said she was unimpressed and is about to leave, when the officer bribe her with 5 horror classics with directors' cuts. And by that, it led her on investigating the crime scene without letting the other police around knows she's there.

"Sorry, lil' bro." she apologizes and turns to the police. **"Oh and I know who's the murderer is."**

"**You know?" **the inspector exclaimed and everyone looks at her.

"**The one who murdered Kelly Mason… is also the one who knows the blueprint of a car…" **Sora said and smirks. **"It's that right, Mr. Bailey?"**

At first he denies and asked why would he murder his friend, then she when on a detail explanation. First, she took out a plastic containing a long, strong but thin wire and a hook used for mountain climbing. She then explained that the murderer first hooked it on the wheels, then puts a loop on the victims head. And to make it easier to behead the victim, he fixed the jacket and adjust the collar of the victim. So when the race starts, the wheel would wound the wire and thus beheading her. The engineer then asked how the wheel manage to wound the wire, when it will break at some point. The answer, is the frame of the car. She then shows the very thin marks on the frame of the car, and then explained that he used them as a guide and security so the line won't break by the speed. Sora then added that the criminal tested a lot of wires due to the deep line marks on the frame.

The murderer then confess, he told them that he never liked that woman because she stole his brother's dream of becoming a pro racing driver when he died. He then told everyone when she and his brother are in high school, they got into a argument and his brother died when he fell off the building. After that, the girl disappeared from the scene and then emerges a few years later as an aspiring race driver with a new name.

The engineer found out her past after consulting her mentor

"**But she's trying to fulfill his dream of becoming pro." **the coach said, and takes out the woman's wallet. He then take out a picture of her and his brother with a group from it. And at the back is a note…

_**I'm sorry… and I'll help you fulfill your dream, Max.**_

After that… the engineer is arrested, looking sadly at the race tracks that his brother once loved and the woman who seeks forgiveness.

"It's sad." Rouge said, appearing on Sora's shoulder.

"Yeah… " Netto said, as they watch the engineer enters the police car. "Kelly only wants to fulfill his brother's dream by abandoning her old life and taking his place."

"True, but she also seeks forgiveness thru that." Sora said, then the inspector suddenly came in front of her along with other policemen.

"WAH!" Netto yelped, he was comically shoved aside as they welcomes her back.

She's also a detective, on the other.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day, is a clear day and people are doing their routine for the week…

"WHY? SORA? WHY?" Rockman screamed as he is being dragged by Rouge into the cyber movie house, they received strange looks they are getting because of Rockman's constant screams in their language before looking at one another.

And for the Hikari triplets… this is normal.

"And why are you doing this to me?" he shouts at the dark blue female.

"First, stop shouting." Rouge said, as their NetOps bought tickets for the four of them. "Second, you need to get over of that silly fear of yours." as the pair of tickets for a horror movies appears into front of her and grabs them. She then resumes dragging the frighten blue navi into the cyber movie house, while Sora and Netto went off to buy popcorn and soda.

After watching the horror movie and some screams from the blue navi later…

"That was cool!" Sora exclaimed as she and Netto walks out of movie house, rubbing her arms a bit because of the cold. "And the effect are excellent too."

"And our ears are ringing, thanks to Rockman's screams" Both Netto and Rouge stated sourly.

"I told you I don't want to watch that!" the blue navi shouts in defense.

"Geez… you and you're-Ooof!" Sora wince when she collided on someone and both fell on the ground. **"Sorry, sorry, I didn't- Ciel?"** she asked.

The person she bumps into is a girl with long, light blonde hair, bright blue eyes and wears a pink dress is now staring at her with wide eyes.** "Sora?" **she asked.

Both girls squeals and hugs one another. **"Holy crap! It is you!" **Sora exclaimed.

"**My gosh, when did we last see other? 7 or 8 years?" **Ciel asked, as she let her old friend go.

"**I think it's 8 and I've been through a lot!" **Sora said and motions her brothers to come and stand beside her. **"Also I like you to meet my two brothers, Saito, who's in the PET and Netto."**

"**Oh I've heard about them, the Hybrids." **Ciel said.

"What?" both brothers asked and Ciel chuckles a bit.

"Why don't I speak in your language you're comfortable with?" Ciel asked with a smile.

"You can speak Japanese?" Rouge asked.

"Yes, but I sometime mistake some few words because of the kanji." Ciel said, as Sora mouthed "same here" and then the blonde picks up her PET. "Hey, why don't you greet them?"

Then a hologram of a pink, small navi with green, coil-like wings came flying out of the PET and then lands on her NetOp's shoulder. "Sora! Rouge! It's nice meeting you again!" the cute female navi said with joy.

"Passy!" Both female NetOp and navi exclaimed.

"How are you?" Rouge asked.

"I'm fine and Ciel is here for work." Passy said.

"Work? Isn't she suppose to be in high school?" Netto asked, seeing her and his sister have the same age.

"Nope, Ciel is already a university graduate, on Bachelor of Robotics and Programming and the valedictorian of Cyber University." Sora explained. "She's now currently working on finding alternate energy sources, so the poor countries won't have to use oil fossil anymore. But she is much more interested on making robots, like I do, though."

"Really?" Netto asked.

"That's right and I've heard from the news that the former Net Savior, Netto Hikari, have returned from death as a android." Ciel said and looks at him. "Plus they even mention, a few details about your body. May I ask if I could look how your body functions?"

"Uh… I-" But Netto got cut off by his sister.

"No disassembling." She sternly stated.

"Ah, s-sorry if I offended you, it's just… it's amazing to meet a real life, free-willed robots that can learn and feel." Ciel explained.

"I guess I could forgive you on that." Sora said, crossing her arms and retains a bit of defensiveness on her brother.

After that, the three went out and walks around town, reminiscing to the memories. On how they met, the friends they made, their interest on robotics and stuffs before Ciel moved for the university when she was 7. They then took a break from exploring in a café nearby, there they relax and have an afternoon snack.

"So what brings you here?" Rouge asked as she sits on the table with Rockman and Passy

"I'm researching on the windmills and how to gather much energy by using smaller windmills so it can be attach to houses." Ciel said, sipping her tea. "Since I'm near this town and they have an energy windmill… I thought, why not visit my old home and see some of our friends. But I'm quite surprise to see you here."

"We got a week off, and Dad sent us here to relax." Sora explained as she bites on her cookie. "So… where are you working?"

"In Green Town in Cyber City, but I'm going to transfer to SciLab." Passy said and then Sora did a spit take.

"Sora!" Rockman and Netto yelled when PET's screen got covered with the said cookie chunks and spit, while Passy and Rouge is laughing at their predicament.

"Sorry." Sora apologized and looks at Ciel. "Are you serious? You're going to move to SciLab?"

"Yeah, I really want to do robotics but Green Town has some restrictions. So I requested a transfer and they agreed to it, as long as I find sufficient data for new energy sources." Ciel said and looks at Sora. " You know… I'm kinda jealous." she added with a smile.

"Wha?" Sora asked, looking at her a bit confused.

"You chose to seek a normal life, but I chose a life that is almost perfect… and lonely." Ciel said and looks at her tea, the triplets and Rouge looks at her. "If I could rewind time, I would chose to seek a normal life too."

"Hey…" Netto said and they looked at him. "Once you get transfer, you and Sora can see each other anytime!"

"Ah, that's right!" Sora said and looks at her friend once more. "You'll love it in Japan, it's a cool place plus you'll get to meet some of my friend in that country too."

And Ciel smiled.

Then Sora asked about her work and Ciel lends her the files. The brunette began checking them out and then… she began doing calculation, solving them and corrects the ones she sees wrong. And after 5 hours… "And with that… Oh crap, I did it again." Sora said.

"Aha, ha, sorry…" Ciel said. "I was hoping to ask you about this but I forgot that if you see something wrong in the calculation, you go on correcting and completing it. Sorry."

"Ah… it's okay." Sora said and then looks at the blonde girl. "But can I have a copy? This might help me on the charging bed I'm making."

"Charging bed?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah, well… it's for my brother." Sora said, looking at her brother. "He needs it to recharge himself, so he won't raid the supermarket."

"I see, I don't mind." Ciel said and gave her a file copy thru their PETs.

"Sora's…" Netto muttered, both brothers are stunned at her ability to solve the problem in just 5 hours. Judging by the file, Rockman guessed it will take three to five days to find a solution for a scientist. Although Ciel can solve it like Sora does, stress and overconfidence causes a few mistakes on her side.

"She have a very high IQ, thus being one of the brilliant minds in the whole world." Rouge explained. "But Sora-chan preferred a normal life and wants to go thru education normally, thus everybody dub her as a hidden genius."

"It's her skeleton in the closet thing." Ciel joked and the brunette just snorted at it.

"I… I see." Both Rockman and Netto said.

They soon learn that their sister can be a promising scientist like their dad.

**:::^*^:::**

Two days later, they meet again and walks around town while talking and explaining about the town Sora and Ciel grew in to the two brothers, till she got interrupted by…

"Oof!" Sora grunted and fell face first on the ground.

,,, By a glomp from her other friends.

"**Sora! Your back!"** a girl with light pink hair in short pig tails exclaimed, as Netto and Rockman could only stare in confusion and Ciel laughs.

"Ow… are you trying to break my back, Erica?" the brunette below winced as the said pink hair girl giggled an apology and got up. Only to be glomp again by 4 more people. **"DANG IT!"** she swore, feeling the pain on her back once more.

"Uh…" Netto voiced out.

"I guess you're wondering who they are, huh?" Ciel asked and giggled. **"All right… hey, are you guys serious, only missing her?"** she voice out and the five turns to see Ciel. They squeals upon seeing her and gave her a group hug, while Netto moves to his sister's side to see if she's okay.

"Um… Sora-nee, are you okay?" Netto asked and he ends up getting a glare from her. "Sorry, standard question."

"What was that all about?" Rockman asked, as his younger brother helps their sister up and Rouge pops out from her PET.

"Well… those five are Sora's friends here in America." Rouge explained.

"They're her friends?" Netto asked. "But why…?"

"I didn't told them about my decision on becoming a Net Savior back then, so as a punishment, I get glomped… Every time I come to visit." their sister said sourly.

After a nice and a not-so-nice reunion on the two girls, Sora introduces her brothers to her old friends. **"Okay, guys, I'd like you to meet my brothers. Firstly, this is my older brother, Saito or by his nickname, Rockman. And the youngest, is Netto or by his nickname Axl."**

"**Nice to meet ya!"** one of the boys in the group said and sticks out a hand. He has a spiky blonde hair with a goggle on his head, and looks like a skater punk. Netto accepted it and felt something like a needle sting, but not too hurtful. However… he saw the boy looks disappointed and Sora shook her head.

"**Ron, haven't you got my mail?"** she asked, he shook his head. **"He's the New Gen Reploid from the alternate dimension, I disappeared into a few months ago."**

At first, there was silence before they suddenly push Sora out of the way, and take a good look on her little brother. They take a good look at him, examining him by the sound of his limbs. And to further prove it out, they took out a metal detector, used for looking treasures in the beach. The machine beeped in alert of finding metal and they jump in surprise.

"**HOLY CRAP! It's true!"** Ron yelps, as Erica stares at Netto in amazement.

"**This is so awesome!"** The other boy shouts in excitement.

"**Hey, we can use him for the incoming Robo Fight!"** another girl suggested.

"**No way! That's cheating! We should examine, dismantle and study- EEK!"** the girl with glasses yelped in fright when a charge shot misses her and explodes a dumpster. The group is shock and frighten by that while Netto sighs and Rockman's mouth drops in shock. They then turn to see Sora with a smoking Buster pistol, pointing at them and a twitching eyebrow… and seems to be annoyed.

"**Do. Not. Disassemble. My. Brother."** She sternly pointed out and glares at her old friends. Even if she knew them longer, Netto is her brother and she does not want anyone tinkering a family.

"**S-sorry!"** they yelped and huddled together as Sora walks towards the redhead.

"You okay?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, sis." Netto said and then points out. "But you gave you friends some trauma here, though."

"Wow… overprotective sister instinct… frightening." Rouge said as she appears on Sora's shoulder and the brunette sighs.

"Come on… I have a lot to tell." Sora said, as she turns to the group while holstering her gun and Netto is thinking of possible ways to suggest Sora not to use the gun on her misplace aggression.

'Hallelujah, she didn't pick a beam saber.' the dark blue navi thought as Sora apologizes and calms her American friends.

**:::^*^:::**

"**So… you here on a break?"** Erica asked and the brother and sister duo nodded. They are now hanging out in a park after Sora gives her old friend the warning, and agreed to her conditions.

"**Yeah, just to cool our heads from the stuffs going around us." **Sora said, as Rouge introduces Rockman to the other navis Sora's friends have and then shows off her new form.

"**So… any maniac rampaging or on world domination lately?" **A boy asked, he has huge round glasses, a shaggy brown hair and looks quite nerdy.

"**Well…"** Sora said and the siblings tells them about Sigma and the Renegade navis, where they came from and how they got here. Not to mention, his comebacks in the other world which Netto was irritated on.

"**I mean, he died 8 times and he still didn't get the message." **Netto said and shook his head in annoyance.

"**Kinda like Regal, but he only came back once though." **Rouge said, turning to the human group with her hands on her hips.

"**Well… Regal is human and he cross fused with his navi. Thus, despite being killed, he got sent into the net instead hence the comeback when Duo and Slur came."** the glasses boy said, fixing his glasses. **"After the battle, he is declared dead."**

"**Well… Duo shuts down one part of the function of the comet he's in and his whole life force is suck out of him."** Sora explained, as Ron tries to balance his spinning ball on his thumb. **"Me and the other cross fusioners saw his dried-up corpse… for real."**

"**Whoa… brutal." **Ron said, after dropping the ball out of surprise when the female Net Savior told them how Regal died.

"**I think it's proper though." **a male navi said, he wore a grey jumpsuit and red armor with orange cords hanging out of the back and got roller blades on his boots. **"He almost abducted us when we're chilling in da city."**

"**Um… are you guys forgetting something?" **A blonde girl in pigtails asked and everyone looks at one another before shaking their heads at her. Then everyone jumps or falls off their seats, except for Sora (who's plain used to this) and Netto (he is leaning on a wall). And the navis nearly plug out back into their PETs by her sudden outburst.

"**WE SHOULD INTRODUCE OURSELVES TO THE NEW KID!" **She points at Netto, and then points at Sora and Ciel. **"AND HAVE A PARTY FOR THE ALL OF THEM!"**

Rouge crosses her arms as the other navis shakes by the shock. 'Yup, that's Triela for ya, the perfectionist.' she thought. "She never loses the volume, does she?" she asked her operator.

"So true, Rouge… so true." Sora replied as her friends looks at her strangely, not understanding Japanese while Ciel giggled on the side and Erica turns away.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day, Sora and her brother rejoins their American friends and heads out to an old clubhouse in the grassy plain, which Sora and her old friends used to play in. It is also the place where they built robots for contests, before they found an old warehouse where it has wider space, a basement for safety and a generator. Still the clubhouse remained somewhat intact, but it will break and collapse if someone leans on the wall.

"**Wow, I can't believe it's still standing."** Ciel said, quite surprise on seeing the old clubhouse.

"**Never expected to survive for 8 years… especially when this is the country that is always hit by twisters and all." **Sora quipped.

"**Well… it did got into a wild ride on a twister once, and then is manage to land back to the ground intact." **Triela said, looking at the old wooden house. Triela is a student body president and loves to do outrageous ideas for events in school, much to Sora's chargin'. Her net navi, Loli, always assist her on these ideas and there are time she puts the line when her NetOp's ideas went out too far.

"**It's a miracle!" **Ron said in a sing-song voice. Ron is a wannabe-popular-kid which is somewhat failing so. His navi, which is the red with orange cords on his back called Static, always supply him of the latest updates of the cool stuffs he finds in the internet.

"**But it did land in a different location." ** Erica supplied as her net navi appears on her shoulder. Her navi, Swan, is a graceful dancing navi and her attacks are based on ballet dances.

"**Where did it land?"** Sora asked, wanting to know.

"**It landed in nearby farm like a dropped bomb!" **Both boy and girl with glasses said cheerfully. They're Mile and Miley, and they are geek twins or tweebs (as their older brother calls them.). They don't have their own customize navis, since they are too focus on making robots.

"**OKAY! Let's start the picnic!" **Triela announce and they cheered, as Sora smiles at Ciel and her brother.

The girls set up the blanket and food as the boys plays a short game of soccer. Well, Netto plays more of a referee, since he might put too much force in his kick… till.

"Ack!" Sora yelped, when the soccer ball whiz past her and nearly hit's the clubhouse.

"**Sorry! Sorry**!" Mile yelped and goes after the ball as Ron laugh a bit and Netto glares at him. Knowing what's going on, Sora motions Dean to stay put and went to get the ball herself. Seeing this, Netto knows what his sister is going to do.

But he did not expect this display…

After getting the ball, she tosses it to Ron, who sees the ball and attempts to catch it. He did not, or just too focus on the ball, see Sora breaks into a run and performs a series of somersaults. Then she crouches on the ground, gathering enough force and leaps up high to reach the ball. All mouths dropped or in awe, as Sora tilts backward in the air and kicks the ball with strong force. This cause Ron to yelp in fright and jumps away. Netto, on the other hand, manage to catch the ball as Sora land back on the ground.

"Wow, sporty as ever, Sora." Erica said with a smile, while Netto looks at her in surprise.

That's when Netto learns that Sora took basics of Gymnastics and Soccer, and uses it on her advantages. And he also learns that Erica is a half-American and half-Japanese, which why she knows Japanese a bit.

After Netto lectures Sora of ner misplaced aggression and having eaten lunch, the group declares a karaoke and Triela pulls out a portable DVD player and a remote-microphone. They each took turns on singing and as usual Sora and Netto tops them off the competition, while the group covers their ears on Triela's off-tone singing and the twin's fluctuating voices. Ciel passes and after Ron sings, thankfully he's the decent one in singing, it's Erica's turn and selects a gentle song.

Next thing they know, Erica's gentle voice manage to top Sora and Netto as he sings Kawara nai Mono by Oku Hanako. Everyone seems relaxed on her gentle voice and half of the group nearly fell asleep.

"**CHALLENGE!" **Triela shouts and everyone, even those who are half asleep jumps awake.

"Wha?" Netto asked, looks quite confuse and half awake. The New Gen Reploid just stared at Triela as she tries to get Sora and Erica to compete with one another. Ciel sensing his confusion, explains it to him.

"Sora and Erica are on par when singing… well, you too, since Sora is your sister." Ciel noted the last part. "Anyway, Sora and Erica are always tied when it comes to singing and Triela would try to the compete them to see who's better… though, just between you and me, Sora and Erica are better off doing duets." she whispered.

After they stop Triela on urging Sora and Erica, the pink-haired girl surprises the group that she too will be going to Japan due to her father's work is transferred there. And both Sora and Ciel are glad that she's be joining them in Japan, although Triela, Ron and the twins will miss her once they moved.

After that… they head home, happy to at least spent their day together even if it's a short time.

**:::^*^:::**

After arriving home, Sora begins her plans on building the charging bed, as Netto sets the PET on their chargers and then sit on her bed.

"Okay… detective, football player, gymnast, scientist, magician and singer?" Netto said, as he and Sora hangs out in her room. As she tinkers a piece of machinery for Netto's new charging capsule, and the net navis are on their chargers... "Seriously, how can you handle all of this?"

"Well… It's the price for being an active genius." Sora said sourly and replaces a small bulb and a few circuits. "I mean, come on, don't you think I will suspect the slightly improve security system in the Hunter's HQ, back in Reploidian? You're smart like me."

"I'm not a genius like you… I'm still having problems on it because of the lack of programs I need." Netto said.

"But it doesn't mean that you're not that smart, you're a late-bloomer and you just lack the resources." Rockman points it out. "Plus being a genius doesn't mean that person is perfect, I mean, Sora is a genius but she can't drive, painting and sculpture is not her thing, and she sucks on household chores besides cooking."

"Geez…" Sora said and turns to look at them. "Don't forget that I was the phantom thief, Blue Magic."

"Oh… and that- WHAT?" Rockman exclaimed on that and Sora grinned as she takes out a blue mask, showing him the proof that she and the said thief are one and the same. "Y-you!"

"What can I say?" Sora said, shrugging and then hiding her mask. "I like trying new things."

'My… my sister has a lot of odd side-jobs.' Netto thought with a twitching smile and sweat dropping on the side.

**:::^*^:::**

On the last day, they spent their time in the farm and Netto gets to know more of his relative. Then they pack up their bags that night, and bids farewell to the Crouse family and their friends, next morning. Sora and Netto have a small chat with them and hopes to meet Ciel and Erica soon in DenTech. The triplets then put their bags into the trunk, enters the car and left for the airport.

And back into the battle field…

But this next battles will go… to new places they never seen before.

**:::^*^:::**

"_Thank you…"_

"_First, for protecting 'Time' and second… well, you'll learn the other meaning someday."_

"_And I will give you a gift…"_

"_Good luck… and watch over them."_

_

* * *

_

Silver: Okay… the last part was not my idea, but Cam's… I'm giving the third crossover world to her as a tribute.

Cam: Consider it a bonus since I'll be moving by the summer and this is my last chance to write.

Silver: That's a long time…

Cam: And you update monthly... and procrastinate.

Silver: Touché… so what's this other world you want to put in?

Cam: This idea came from a crossover and those chapters focuses on Enzan… well, more of Enzan's past life.

Silver: Enzan has a past life? (stares at the dual-hair teen.)

Cam: He has now.

Silver: You're serious?

Cam: (whispers it to her and her eyes widens.)

Silver: Are you serious? If you are, you'll either make this story better or screwed.

Cam: Well, it's your story, you can freely change it if you or the readers don't like it.

Silver: Right… Time for sneak preview! Oh and the new third world is…?

Cam: Here's a clue, one of the characters in that world is… a pizza-addict.

* * *

**Sneak Preview!**

**NOT A CHAPTER! XD!**

"…Hey." a childish voice rings out, causing both to jump on their feet.

"… Give me that." it said once more as the two looks for the source before a chill runs down their spines by a childish giggle.

* * *

Silver: Can you guess what's going to be in the next page? :D

Cam:: Since I'm retiring from writing for good, I'll give you another clue. Next clue for the new corssover world of mine… rebellious ex-prince.

Silver: Wait… that's-!

Cam: Read and Review!

Silver: Oi, I thought you're going to expose it.

Cam: Not from you…

Silver: Right… on the side note: Yes, we have a guest star from Rockman Zero! It's Ciel! You all will get to meet her again in the near ending, folks!


	28. Omake: Trick and Treat

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Omake: Trick and Treat**_

Silver: During writing the incoming chapter, I just realized that Halloween is coming soon after hearing this song from Rin and Len Kagamine. It's Trick and Treat and after watching a few other PVs, I decided to make another omake. And everybody must learn fear… sometimes… (grins) enjoy!

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird never owns Megaman and it's series, and never will aside from her characters. Also she does not own this Vocaloid song.)

* * *

**Omake: Trick and Treat**

It is night time…

Another maverick attack but X and Zero manage to stop and defeat them in record time. As they look around for any remaining mavericks or survivors in the area…

"Huh?" X muttered and turns his head to the right. He adjust his audio receptors and focus on the sound he is hearing right now. "Hey Zero, did you hear that?" he asked his partner.

"Hm…?" Zero said and adjust his receptors like X did. "Yeah, I hear it too but… a carnival music?"

Both Hunters then dashes to the source to find an old man in black, and is playing with a box and… strings on two nailed sticks?

'Puppets?' X thought as they approach the man. "Sir, are you okay?" he asked and the old man nodded, as Zero move to the front to see what's in the box. "Come on, you need to get to a safe place, there are mavericks left swarming in this area."

"X…" Zero called. "You should see this." pointing at the box.

The blue hunter moves to the front and gasps on what he saw, a pair of puppet that looks exactly like Axl and Sora. Could this man…?

"Do you know Sora and Axl, sir?" X asked and the old man nodded. "Do you know where they are?" he asked again and the old puppeteer points at a mansion, not too far from the city.

"I don't believe this… they're there the whole time?" Zero said and dashes towards the mansion. X tries to stop him because the old man is still in danger zone, but upon looking at the old man…

Has already packed his things and is a few meters from X, which gave the blue hunter a surprise. "H-how did he-?" X stuttered in surprise before his intercom beeps and hears Zero shouting at him to catch up.

With that, the blue hunter rubbed his ear and dashes to catch up with his partner.

**:::^*^:::**

"Um… Zero, I think we should call Alia first, so the staff could clean up their rooms when we return with them." X said as they walk down the dirt path of the woods and the mansion came into view. Then out of the blue… a carnival music is being played.

"Wha?" Zero said, quite confuse on this. They then heard someone singing, but they couldn't believe it because they recognize the voice.

'Axl?' both X and Zero thought as they stop upon arriving at the gate.

And they saw him leaning on the gate of the mansion… in a different armor that is similar to Spider's but it's in black, white and red with a chain on his waist. Plus instead of a fedora, Axl carries in his arm: a top hat with a red ribbon and skulls of both human and reploid decorated on it. Both hunters mouths just drop, seeing his new appearance as the music ends and he stops singing.

Did I mention he's helmet less?

"X…" Zero said.

"Yeah?" X replied.

"Is that really Axl?" the red reploid asked.

"I… I think so." he replied again.

Then Axl, did not notice the two, he turns away and enters the gate. Then a new music is played as he heads to the front doors, and it sounds more carnival with some orchestra and DJ combine.

"What the hell?" Zero said.

"_Fukai fukai kiri no naka youen ni hibiku koe"_

_("Deeper, deeper, you come into the forest, pulled by a voice so sweet")_

Axl sang and looks at them, both hunters looking baffled at this situation.

"_Oide oide kono mori no motto okufukaku made"_

_("Come on, come on, you want to go even deeper to meet")_

He continues as the gates opens wide and a certain brunette came out from the front doors.

"_Hayaku hayaku isogiashi de dekiru dake chikaku ni"_

_("Quickly, quickly, come as fast as your little legs can run into the dark")_

Sora sang and motions X and Zero to come near. The two hesitated and looks at one another, wondering what's with their behavior.

"_Oide oide saa tanoshii"_

_("Come on, come on, it'll be so fun,") _

She added with a smile.

"_Asobi wo hajimeyou"_

_("Let's play a game, on your mark!")_

Both she and Axl sang before running into the manor.

"Ah! Wait!" X shouts and runs into the manor with Zero right on his tail. Inside the mansion, there are not much furniture aside for the clothed tea table with chairs for four with two occupied in the middle of the room. The table is filled with sweets that could make your teeth rotten or make someone sugar high.

Both went near the table and they notice Sora is in a dress, a goth lolita kind of dress to be exact. It come in all color Axl's armor have and wears a small bonnet decorated similarly to the gruesome fashion of Axl's top hat. The difference… there are demented heads of stuff animals and smaller chains on her bonnet and dress. Both are stun on their appearances, as Sora stirs the tea with a cinnamon stick.

"_SHINAMON STIKKU wa mahou no SUTEKKI"_

_("This cinnamon stick is a wonderful magic stick")_

Axl sings again, as he takes a sips of his tea

"_Hitofuri suru dakede SHIROPPU ga fueru"_

_("Imagine that you're drowning in the sweetest syrups")_

Sora then sings as she gave X and Zero each a cup of tea, the two just takes it while still wondering what's wrong with these two.

"_Nigasa sae wasurete amai yume no naka"_

_("Dreams relieve of you of problems and sorrows that make you weep")_

She smiles was X and Zero takes cautious sips of their cup of tea.

"_Tengai ni mamorarete"_

_("Because they are heaven-made,")_

Axl sings, as X and Zero sets their cups down and rubs their eyes.

"_Nemuri ni ochiru"_

_("Have one and fall asleep.")_

She and Axl sang and smiled. It's too late for X and Zero to realize that the tea has a special drug that could affect reploids. They fell on the floor, a bit half awake though.

"_Gensou no saimin ni oboreta mama de ii"_

_("But they are only good if you are surrounded by hallucinations")_

She continues as she kneels beside the two drugged reploids

"_Mekakushi wo hazushicha omoshiroku nai desho"_

_("When you take the blindfold off, there's no more pleasant creations")_

Sora then gently placed her hands on their eyes and closes them, causing X and Zero to standby mode.

"_Ashimoto gochuui sono te wa boku ga hiku kara"_

_("You will see that your hands are tied and bound, dragging at my heels")_

Axl sings and carefully lifts both hunters on his shoulders each. He then carries them into a room with Sora aiding him on the door.

"_Sono mi wo ima sugu ni"_

_("You've already given up, don't take it back,") _

He sings as he laid the two on the floor, then takes something and then heads out of the room.

"_Yudanenasai saa"_

_("It's a deal")_

Both Axl and Sora sings, as the door is shut tight.

_Ahh..._

**:::^*^:::**

Moments later, Zero groaned and eyes flutters open. He winces at the stiffness of his body, since his gears are protesting and squeaking by the lack of use. "What the?" Zero said, as he turns to see X sleeping near him and shakes his partner awake. "Hey, wake up buddy." he said.

X groan and wakes up, like Zero, he winces on the protesting gears and rubs his eyes. "Hey, what happened?" X asked.

Then they hear a scream and both hunters jumps to their feet. With a simple look and a nod, he break down the door and dashes to the source of the scream. But upon reaching the place…

"Oh gods…" X muttered, as he and Zero enters the room and he immediately feels he wants to throw up. Inside, the whole room is splashed with bloody red and dismantled bodies of reploids and humans. On the walls hangs the body of reploids with human faces, while the floor is littered with mechaniloids and reploids that looks like animals. While on the chandelier, there hangs the bodies and organs of humans, and it drips a few blood like a soft rain. Both hunter have no idea whether these reploids on the floor are mavericks or not, and they don't know whether these reploids caused the massacre on humans...

But one thing stuns them…

Standing in the middle of the room… is Axl. He is covered in blood and in his hands is the double scythe which was own by Red, his old mentor. And he doesn't look too interested with the bodies around him.

"No… way." Zero whispered and looks at Axl. "Axl!" he shouts.

The redhead flinches and turns to see his comrades, he just stared at them with a blank look when…

"Help… this guy is insane!" A surviving reploid cried, trying to crawl to the two hunters but having difficulty since his limbs aside from one arm is sliced off. "He and that-" he fails to finish the warning, when Axl bashes his head with the tip of the double scythe… not once, but for several times till the head is in small bits and pieces. Both hunters gaped on what Axl did and can no longer see their friend the same way.

"Axl, I'm sorry but you're…" X said and summons his X-Buster, he then shoots at Axl. He redhead jumps away and Zero reach for his Z-Saber, only to find it gone.

'What?' he thought and turns to see Axl got his weapon attached on his belt. "You sneak!" he shouts as he summons his buster and dashes toward their old comrade. Axl then did a back flip and retreats further into the top of the grand stairs, then deflected a few shots with his weapon.

"Why? What happened to you?" X shouts as Axl drops to the floor, avoiding a charge shot from the blue hunter. "AXL!"

Then from above, Sora drops in, just between him and the hunters. She, too, looks uninterested at them as she bows in front of the hunters and then lights a green beam saber to life.

"What? Where-:" Zero muttered and looks at Axl's side, where his saber is and finds it missing. "Then when did she-?"

"Zero! Look out!" X shouts and Zero turns to see Sora in front of him, and is about to slice his head off. Quickly, he fell down but only to fall off the stairs in the process.

"Zero!" X shouts and rushes to his friend.

"That is not one of the smartest move." Zero winces as he stands up with X's help.

Sora then places her hand in front of her and both hunters froze. Fighting Axl is one thing, but going against Sora is a whole new different problem. She then raises her hand in the air and in response, wires and cords appears from the ground below the two. It quickly wraps around them, X and Zero struggles against this but it binds them tightly.

Soon they black out once more.

**:::^*^:::**

X wakes up, discovered that he's tied tightly and could not move. He also learned that he's blindfolded since one of his eyes is covered, while the other is not properly covered. He then felt the weight beside him, and turns to see Zero awake and in a similar situation as his. But the blond hunter has not plans yet to escape, because Axl and Sora are with them and is having tea party.

"_Itsukaraka ginen no ha ga miegakure suru"_

_("Sometimes we see the shine of doubt flickering on the double edged knife")_

Axl sings, as Sora takes a bite on her cake as the lantern makes their shadows grows.

"_Ai to iu menzaifu nado wa sonzai shinai to"_

_("A faultless love does not exist, there's no perfect feeling in this life")_

He continues as he sips his tea and unknown to them, X and Zero watches in fear as the shadows of the two…

But the brunette girl senses their new fear growing and smiled a little.

"_Mekakushi no sukima kara nozokimita RANTAN ga"_

_("Through a hole in the blindfold, there was something I thought I'd never see")_

She sings and Axl also notices their new fear, and both slowly turns at the hunters with a cheery smile. And their shadows takes on wicked forms with long claws and a smile of madness, and slowly looks at the hunters.

"_Utsushi dashita kage ni omowazu mi no ke ga yodatta"_

_("Lantern shadows that grew at night unconciously frightened me")_

She continues and Axl joins in the last part, then they stand from their table and moves towards the hunters. They then kneels in front of the two

"_Oya oya warui ko mou omezame desu ka?"_

_("My, my, you bad kids, how dare you wake so early")_

Axl sings, teasing them both as he and Sora removed the blindfolds

"_Mekakushi ga toketa nara moumoku ni shiyou ka?"_

_("If your blindfold comes off, then should I blind you instead?")_

Sora sings, whipping out the Z-Saber and lights it up once more. Both flinch and began shaking, as the two teenagers are no longer sane anymore.

"_Hora hora warainasai kawaii okao de"_

_("Hey look, you're laughing, now isn't that the cutest sight?")_

Sora sings, as she fingers X's face to a smile but he backs away, not knowing what to do with a mad human girl.

"_Kegawa wo mata kabutte"_

_("But you still wear lies,")_

Axl sings and they remove their binds

"_Shibai ni modoru"_

_("So let's get back to our play tonight")_

They both sing and then stands, suddenly the lights went off.

"…Hey." a childish voice rings out, causing both hunters to jump on their feet.

"… Give me that." it said once more as the two looks for the source before chills runs down into their system by a childish giggle.

"_Doushita no sonna me de karada wo furuwasete"_

_("Why are you trembling in front of me like a scared little mouse?")_

Axl sings, as the lights went back on and they are now back in the place where they fought… except the bodies and bloods are gone. The room is completely clean and on top of the grand stairs is Axl and Sora with their weapons lit.

Also Axl is wearing the top hat, while Sora replaced hers with a witch hat in similar decoration.

"_Atatakai MIRUKU de motenashite hoshii no?"_

_("Milk is what you want because it made you well at your own house?")_

He sings, as they leap off the stairs and landed in front of the two with grace. X and Zero scrambles away from the two, knowing their friendly faces are fake.

"_Saa naka ni ohairi koko wa totemo atatakai"_

_("This is my domain, my place where it's just as warm as any place")_

Sora sings with a smile. With another wave of her hand, streams of data ribbons came from the walls and wraps around the hunters lovingly. Both struggles to get free but…

"_Mikaeri wa POKETTO no nakami de ii kara"_

_("I'll just toll what's in your pocket, now you should not lose any face")_

She continues, as she looks so close at the helpless hunters and they froze up by the closeness of their faces. Then she moves back and her brother stands beside her, with the mad smiles of the shadows looming that them.

"_Choudai hayaku hayaku nee hora ima sugu ni"_

_("Give me that, quickly, quickly, just give it here right now")_

The two sings and they began inflicting minor wounds to the hunter, urging them to give it.

"_Nisha takuitsu no gensoku wo kanagurisute"_

_("Don't ask why or when or where, you don't even need to know how")_

They continued, their friendly smiles faded and grins coldly as Sora stabs Zero on the shoulder and Axl breaks a part of X's helmet.

"_Mayakashi de motenashite amai mitsu wo sutte"_

_("Eat these sweets, they tempt you into believing false hospitality")_

Then Sora hits X on the face with the hilt of the Z-Saber and Axl just slices off one of Zero's arm. Both hunters can no longer comprehend their surroundings or the warning system alerting of the damage. They are only focus on their two old friends and their fear, as the pain intensifies.

"_Choudai yokose hora ima sugu ni"_

_("Give me that, quickly, just give it here right now to me")_

They continue singing as they charge at the two trapped hunters and stabs them on the chest.

"_Choudai!"_

_("Give it!")_

They shouts, as they dug into the wound and pulling something out. Then with mad smiles and a snap of Sora's fingers, the data ribbons let them go and they fell into the darkness.

**:::^**_Reploidian_**^:::**

A pair of loud thuds is heard from the top floor, those who live or works on or near that floor can be heard. Passer-bys just wondered what's going on before resuming work.

In the S-class Hunter suite, X clambers out of the capsule like he ridden the roller coaster for thousands of times and is about to throw up. In the room next him, Zero is in the same situation but manage to stand up like he's having the worse hangover ever.

But truth is…

After fixing themselves up, they head to the office but X heads to Zero's due to the uneasy feeling.

"Hey X, something wrong?" Zero asked, as he sort out the paper to keep his mind off it when his blue partner came in.

"Um… kinda and- your office is clean." X said, as he notice the office is neat and sparkly and is surprise at it.

"Er… yeah, something to kill time, that's all." he replied, turning away but that not the complete truth. "So, what you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Uh well…" the blue hunter said and sits on the sofa to relax and gathers enough courage to even describe it. "I kinda have a disturbing dream last night." he finally muttered out, the red hunter nearly fell off his chair upon hearing that but X did not notice.

"Um… what kind of dream?" he asked and immediately regretted asking that, as he looks for anything to hit his head on…

"I… I dream about Sora and Axl." X said, the red hunter stiffens and looks at his friend. "They… did something bad on us."

And with enough bravery… "Did it involved him and her killing a bunch of reploids and humans and the lost of sanity in a mansion?" the blonde asked.

"Yea- wait! You have that dream too?" X asked and is surprise to learn that his friend describe the dream right. Zero nodded and told X that he have the same dream as he have last night, and they get chills every time they talk about it.

"You think…?" X asked.

"It's possible… although I'm wondering why would Sora would work with a maverick." Zero said, scratching his head then Alia came with a tray of snacks and a pair of cups.

"Hey guys, Happy Halloween!" Alia said cheerily as she set the tray on the coffee table. "And your office is clean." she added, quite surprise at the clean space and Zero just chuckled a bit.

"Thanks Al- wait, Halloween?" X asked and looks at Zero, who stares back at him.

'Could it be…?' they thought.

"Well, you better enjoy your teas before it gets cold." Alia said.

"Tea?" Zero and X said in unison and looks at the tray. Surely they saw the cups of tea with cinnamon sticks on the side and a small pitcher of syrup beside the biscuits. Then they suddenly sees the mad smile of the shadow again.

"Yeah, the cafeteria ran out of coffee and if you want extra boost of energy, add some cinnamon stick and syrup on…guys?" Alia said, when she finds herself talking in a empty office. The blonde navigator is confuse on where the two hunters went off to… Not knowing that, X and Zero have retreated to the blue hunter's office and hid there till the base alerted on another maverick attack.

And, of course, they avoided any stranger who looks like a puppeteer.

**:::^**_Cybertronic_**^:::**

Netto yawn loudly as he dresses up for today and takes Rockman's PET from the charger. He then heads down to the dining room where his mom is making pancakes, and his sister is chewing some of the ones that are already made. The New Gen Reploid slumps in his seat and drops his head on the table, before yelping back at the sight of a fuzzy, fake black spider.

"You okay?" Sora asked, looking at her slightly freak out little brother. "And Happy Halloween, by the way."

"Yeah… just hating myself now." Netto said and ignores Rockman's frightful squeak on finding out the dreadful day.

"Why?" Sora asked, as Rouge tries to calm the blue navi.

"I have a disturbing dream…" he said, as he drops his head on the table again. "I dreamed that I've gone mad and torture X and Zero after treating them in a tea party." he added.

"Whoa… wait, does it involved you wielding a double scythe and me summoning wires, cord and data ribbon out of nowhere?" she asked.

"Yeah… WHA?" he shouts, causing his mother to flip the pancake the wrong way and landed on his sister's head. Thankfully, it is completely cook. "Whoops… S-sorry." he apologizes, as she picks the pancake of her head and flops it back on the plate.

The two then discuss about the dream they have and wonders if X and Zero also dreams of it… but they later deem it impossible since they don't have the link like they do. But they wonder… why the hell they're singing in that dream?

"Ne, Sora…" Netto called and she looks at her brother as they picks up their bags. "Do you think… I'm capable to do that? Becoming maverick?" he asked and his sister sense his distress. As they set out for the HQ, the brunette sweeps her brother to the floor. "YAH!" he yelps as he fell flat on his butt.

"It's Halloween, Netto-kun." Sora said and sticks out her hand to help him up, and grins madly at him. "We have the right to go mad today."

Netto looks at her and replied with a cheeky grin.

The two then went out for the mission, unknown to them… the wicked shadows behind them suddenly changes form and becomes a pair of birds. It then flies away with a third one joining them, and the siblings' shadow returns to normal.

**:::^*^:::**

Later… In the Ayanokuji Mansion…

The young heiress set up a Halloween party for everyone. And the Hikari Triplet came in late and not in costume, because of the non-stop virus attack today. "Man, that was crap… And I don't have a costume for this." Sora said as she and her brother enters the mansion.

"It's okay, Sora-nee, at least we get to party without disturbance." Netto said, patting her by the back.

"You only said that because you already have that armor of yours as a costume!" Sora pointedly accused the redhead.

"W-well… it's not really because I use it all the time in battle." Netto said, as they stop for a bit. "Besides, the point here in Halloween is to dress up as others, not in their battle suits or form."

Sora sighs till Yaito came out from the party in a cute princess outfit. And knowing that Sora and Netto are busy with fighting, the heiress already made their costumes for them in wide selection. And to the two's surprise, they saw the near-similar costumes they have in their dream on the rack. They are the same ones but different in how it is decorated: Netto's is not an armor but a tux with more rips and chains, and no skulls aside for the cartoonish-looking one on the top hat's bow. And Sora's has more red and black roses on the dress, less chains and skulls and stuff animal heads are missing. On the witch hat, the skulls and stuff animal heads are replaced with more red and black roses. And a finishing touch, is a rose decorated eye-patch.

The two looks at two another, as Yaito noted that these costumes also comes with a fake bloody scythe and a fake bloody sword. The theme of these costumes is an nightmare-ish version of Alice in Wonderland, she added.

Coincidence…?

The two just shrugs and picks these as their costumes for tonight.

* * *

Silver: I think I just traumatize X and Zero with tea… What the hell are in those teas Sora given them, anyway?

Axl: Hey, you gave them a nightmare of me going maverick and Sora going mad, and tortured them!

Silver: It's Halloween! You're suppose to scare someone in that day!

Zero: What an excuse… (crossing his arm and glares at the authoress.)

Silver: Either Sora and Axl scare you off, or Meiru and Vile does… come to think of it, you two will be even more traumatize if Vile sings as he tortures the both of you.

Zero: Actually, you'll make my ears bleed since Vile is not much of a singer as Axl does.

Silver: … Right… anyway, this fic is based on the PV of Trick and Treat where the Katekyo Hitman Reborn stars in. Love Mukuro and Chrome traumatizing poor Tsuna there. XD! It's rape! Lol! SNEAK PEEK!

* * *

**Sneak Peek!**

After massaging his stomach, Axl stands up and lends a hand to the blue armored boy. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" he said and stands up with his help. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." the young reploid said. "I'm Netto but call me Axl while I'm in this armor. This is my sister, Sora, my older brother, Rockman, and that's Rouge, my sister's partner." he said, pointing at each of his sibling and the elder navi respectively.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Megaman Volnutt, but you can call me Megaman." the armored boy said then introduces his friend. "And this is Frank West."

"Nice to meet you, Megaman and Mr. West." Sora said and they shake hands.

* * *

Silver: The start of the crossover world! These are the worlds that me and Cam have decided and the solidly confirmed and in order:

**Tatusnoko VS Capcom **- Axl and Sora will be taking Zero's and Roll's place here, question though… who or what other pairings do you want to compete with the siblings?

**Sonic the Hedgehog** - Cam commented that there are already too much Sonic crossovers, and opted me to use Conan/Kaito. But a week ago, I let her borrow a Sonic game. When I meet her again in the chat room, she said she changed her mind and go with Sonic in this crossover. Of course we had a talk (or chat) on this because I already script out the beginning of the DC/MKxMM crossover. In the end, she confirms that she wants a Sonic and Megaman crossover… I think I just awaken her old Sonic fan girl in her by that game.

**Code Geass **- Cam's last tribute as an author. She said that this story started a year after the Zero Requiem. She also said that it has a mixture of the storyline of Sonic and the Black Knight and the Last Legion because she wants to destroy the Code and the Geass… Also Erica is her OC.

Silver: And if you're wondering, this omake is not co-written with Syber Cam, because this pops into my head two weeks ago after hearing this song. And I use the things X and Zero fears… having to fight with a friend and a human. This omake also says that the Hikari triplets (yes, even Rockman can) are capable of doing that, if they are totally mad and have lost their sanity. For those who wants to see Sora with a beam saber, well… it's in this omake, although she doesn't use it much. For those who wants to see Netto/Axl wielding Red's Double Scythe (what's does his weapon called?), you can see it again… soon! XD! Well… Happy Halloween, minna-san and read and review!

P.S. What do Sora and Axl want from them? (thinks) … No clue, but I'll leave it to your imagination. (mimicking Spongebob XD!).


	29. Parallel Tournament! START!

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Parallel Tournament! START! **_

Silver: And now… for the crossover saga of this story!

Cam: I can't believe you beat me… with just Roll and Megaman Volnutt in that game!

Silver: Cam, the trick in the game is to learn ones character's techniques and stick with them… I always play as Roll and Megaman Volnutt, which I always know what to do when I play as them.

Cam: Now I know where you procrastinate in…

Silver: Hey! What that suppose to mean?

Cam: (Ignores her) Enjoy the fic.

Silver: Hey!

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird and Syber Cam does not own Rockman and it's series. They also does not own Tatsunoko and their characters, they are own by… Tatsunoko Production itself.)

* * *

**Parallel Tournament! START!**

"Where could they be…?" Yuuichiro said in dread as he rapidly types on the keyboard.

His children are suppose to meet him to discuss further about the new Synchro Chips. But Meijin just suddenly came running into his office, saying they vanished into a bright light as they got here on SciLab. As he continues his search…

"Hakase!" Laika shouts from the hall

"Hikari-Hakase!" Enzan shouts, as they both run into the control room.

"I know, they are missing." the scientist replied as he continues to type.

Both boys look at one another as they stood and stare at the screen, as it rapidly changes and pops up many screens. 'Sora… Netto… where the hell did you go?' the dual-hair thought, then runs out with the Sharo soldier on his tail, on a search of his own.

But one thing is for sure… Rockman is with them.

**:::^*^:::**

"I can't believe you landed me, Sora-nee." Netto winces as he and his sister walks around the city.

Earlier, both siblings were heading for SciLab to discuss about the new PET system, so Enzan and Laika could cross fuse like Sora freely. But upon nearing the said building, a portal just appeared behind them and pull them in by surprise. The next thing they knew, Netto landed face first on the pavement while his sister landed above him.

"I said I was sorry." she said, rubbing the back of her head a bit and looks around. The places looks normal, except it is missing the technology and net navis. To them it looks like the 20th century, and some looks quite retro to them. As they walks around the area, they quickly drop to the floor to avoid the gunshots.

"You okay?" Netto asked, after the shooting stops and summons his armor.

"Yeah… but who pulled the trigger?" Sora asked in a deadpan tone and takes out her PET and Synchro Chip V2. The siblings turns to see strange men in dark brown and dark green suits with matching dark green mask with red visor. They carry rifles and a few rocket launchers, attacking the city and people are running for their lives.

"What the hell are they?" Axl asked, as he calls for this guns but did not switch the safety off.

"The Lame Brigade?" Sora joked as she cross fused with her navi.

"Sora-chan, this is no time to joke." Rockman chided his sister.

"Plus they're humans." Rouge added.

"Well… tell that to those guys." CF Rouge said, as a huge dog-like machine runs over the men, while two teenagers in jumpsuits and masks hits them… with their toy-like weapon. Then a gigantic, golden box shaped robot fell out of the sky and stomps on a few before bellying flop on a group. "Errr… should we fight?" she asked, looking at her brother.

"I…think we better leave this to them." Axl suggested, seeing the small group of three is doing quite well on fending them off.

"So much for fun." his sister muttered.

"Only you could think of a brawl as fun." Rouge deadpanned at her.

"What can I say? I 'm that daring." CF Rouge said with a smile.

"Okay… who are you and what have you done with our sister?" Rockman asked and looks sternly at the brunette. The blue navi knows that his sister is cheery, sassy and care-free, but they never mention that she's too daring, cocky or overconfident.

"Rockman… would you believe if I tell you that this was Sora before she discovered Netto is her brother?" Rouge asked the blue navi. "Well, it's true."

"LOOK OUT!" The female shouts and out of instinct, Axl quickly grabs his sister and jumps away. They landed a few meters from the blast site and with one look with one another, they join in the fight.

**:::^*^:::**

"I told you it's fun." CF Rouge said as she defuses and Rockman just sighs and ignored her. After beating the "Lame Brigade", they check at the city's damage and is glad to see that there are only less damage.

"Hey!" the girl in a jumpsuit called and waves at them. The siblings looks at one another and walks toward the two other teens, a mecha dog and a huge gold box-robot. "Thank you for the help back there."

"Not a problem." Sora said.

"But what's going on?" Rouge asked, as she appears on Sora's shoulder.

"Well, that's what we want to ask too." the boy said as he scratches his head.

"You don't know?" Rockman asked.

"We're not exactly came from this place." the boy replied.

"Wait, you guys came from another world too?" Axl asked

The teens are surprise to meet someone like them and wondered what's going on till an announcement was heard from a machine above them . It said that in three days, a private tag-team tournament will start for dimension travelers. Those who are chosen (or abducted, Axl noted.) from each world are the participants, and will fight by a random selection which will inform them. The one with most wins will fight the Champion and will get any wish come true. It then shows the list of names of 26 competitors, 12 tag teams except for 2, which are too large to be have a partner. Sora and the others are not surprise to find their names on the list, but both are surprise to see a name Megaman in it.

The siblings wondered… is X in the tournament too?

**:::^*^:::**

"Welcome to our workshop!" Ai said cheerily as the group enters their house. After introducing one another, Gan and Ai finds the siblings to have no place to stay and offered them to stay with them. Well… it's more on Ai's idea, Gan is a bit skeptical since they are part to the tournament that they are forced to join in. The sibling are glad to have a place to stay, but one thing bothers them is…

How come they manage to get their house to this dimension?

Ai explains their situation and the two learns that this workshop is just a copy of their original home.

"Yeah." Ai explained. "You see, when we landed in this world a week ago, we have the same problems like you have. But it was solved when we are wandering around and found the copy of our house place in the suburbs with trees missing."

"Oh…" Sora said then. "Wait, can it be that they copy the last location you're in and make it the players' base?"

"It seems so." Gan said, before the two look at one another and they both rushes out with smoke trailing behind them. "Eh? What's up with them?" before he receives a light smack on the head and they ended up following them.

**:::^*^:::**

After scanning the city for a familiar place, the triplets stood in front of the gate and looks a quite shock at this. They found their base… but…

They didn't expect it to be the SciLab building!

As Ai and Gan manages to find them, Netto finds a note and key on the mail box. On the note, it says that this is the new home and battlefield of the tag team: Sora and Netto/Axl and feel proud to be chosen for such a rare event. "Who would want to be abducted for this stupid thing?" Netto said with annoyance and crushed the letter.

"Although… they do get some points on copying SciLab." Sora pointed out and Netto mouthed "true".

"Wow… so this is your base?" Gan asked.

"Yeah… this is SciLab, it's the place where our dad works and the base operation of Net Savior." Sora explained as her brother opens the gate. The group looks around and the siblings finds the place to be the exact replica of the original, from it's smallest detail to the mess and clutters. Even the spills, leaks and cracks are there too, but there is one thing that they don't have… the people in it.

Entering the main room, Sora and Netto boot up the computer and plugs in their navis to find any clue in the net. Then seconds later… "Sora-chan, we don't have any connections." Rouge said after reappearing in the screen with the blue navi.

"They're blocking the net." Rockman said.

"Dang." Netto said as he plugs out his navi while Sora looks around for something.

"Ne, what are you looking for?" Gan asked as the brunette scrambles on the items and still continues to look.

"Anything to contact our family." Sora said before throwing a container full of screws and nuts, nearly hitting the coupled teens. "And sorry about that." she quickly apologizes.

After failing to find what she needs, they began setting up the place for their own likings. And with Gan and Ai's help they manage to fix the place in a day and a half before the tournament. They thank them by hanging out with the half of the second day, and they hoped that they won't fight one another in the tournament. On the third and last day, Rockman and Rouge manage to get a connection but some areas in the net are block, so they only got a tidbit of information of this world. The two navis did try to break the blocks, but it's strong and not even a crack is seen after the onslaught. Not knowing what to do and to get home, Sora and Netto made a decision on attending the fight in order to get more info.

"Okay… since we have no idea and no clue on what to do, we have to attend the tournament." Rouge said and the brunette nodded.

"Also Netto here is a bit sensitive on fighting humans." Sora mentions that and the new gen slumps in his seat.

"Eh? Why is that?" Rockman asked, knowing his brother is still human in some ways.

"The problem here is… most of the participants here are humans and Netto has been taught the Three Laws of Robotics." Rouge said and looks at the depressed reploid. "They practically glued it in his mind, thus it will be a handicap if he faces a human opponent. Although he's on a progress of breaking those certain rules, he is still a bit paranoid and controls himself from harming others."

"I see…" Rockman said and looks at his brother with concern. Unlike Netto, there was no such rule or law about human-net navi relation, so they are pretty much free to make friends and enemies. Well… they did not create such laws since they were stuck behind the computer screen all the time, the only damage they can do is when they hack into a computer by a virus or a net navi… well… probably there are some laws about hacking though. Still, even on the creation of the Dimensional Area and Synchro Chips, no laws were created about not harming any humans or fellow navis. But the blue navi does feel the tension of the doubts and mistrust between the two kinds, and it might not be long before someone implement laws, similar to Netto's, on them.

But he believed that they can live together in peace without such laws…

"Well… Tomorrow is the start of the party, remember the drill: Netto takes on the mecha and robots and I'll take on the rest." Sora said.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day, right after breakfast, the machine that also announces the line-up, it flew inside the open window and shows the two of their opponents and the battle arena thru a holographic screen. The siblings look at one another and prepared themselves, as the machine traps them in a orb and sent them to the designated area.

Their first opponents are Joe the Condor and Kaijin no Soki, they manage to win by their strategy "Sword and Shield". The strategy is CF Rouge attacks and strike while Axl could only counter and defend, he was not allowed to strike or even dealing the last blow to their opponents. Although, CF Rouge took a long time to recover, since Kaijin no Soki possessed demon blood in him which enhances his body and gave her quite a damage.

The next fight is after shopping for groceries, their opponent is Saki and Viewtiful Joe. Once again, their strategy is "Sword and Shield", but the problem on this one is Viewtiful Joe kept bouncing off the walls. Making it hard for CF Rouge to land a hit on him and the shots she intended for the hyper hero, ended up hitting Saki (who tries to surprise attack her) or nearly hitting her brother (thankfully he jumps out of the way or missed). To get him down, she switched with Axl and every hit Joe throws, ended up coming back at him. They won the fight in the end, and they even befriended their opponents.

Next day, Sora and Netto are hanging out with Saki when the third fight is announced. It is PTX-40A and it is alone dues to it's massive size, and the fight arena in in their home base. This is where Axl is allowed to fight in the fullest, till in the middle of the fight, Saki mention that the mecha has a pilot in it. This cause him to stop his strikes and got hit with so many combos, that he is about to faint. Thankfully, he tag his sister and as a payback, she used her ultimate armor, Nora, and unleashed her ultimate attack. They win and Sora offered to the pilot if he wants her to fix it as a sign of apology.

As the pilot agrees, a certain teen left the scene silently…

But he did not notice Rouge saw him left…

**:::^*^:::**

"Netto-kun…" Rockman said as he looks at his brother sulking on the window. "Are you okay?"

No answer and this made the blue bomber worried, as Rouge log-in to the system. "Hey, Sora has been looking for you guys."

"Well…" Rockman said and looks worriedly at his brother. The female navi just looks at the depressed reploid and she senses his distress. Knowing the problem, she decided to talk it with the brothers minus Sora.

"Netto-kun." Rouge called and he response by twitching before turning to see his sister partner. "Is something wrong?"

"… It's nothing." he whispered and turns away.

"Don't even think of lying." She said quickly at the redhead, he looks back at her in surprise. "Something is disturbing you and if you don't get over with it, your sister will bound to see that problem of yours."

Netto just stared at that and Rockman just watch the two. Rouge knew there is something disturbing the boy… because the look and the slight off-character act is similar to her partner and his sister. You might say, he almost acts like her. 'Incredible, in just a short time, they are that close… well, they are siblings but…' the dark blue navi thought.

"Sorry…" Netto apologizes as Rouge crosses her arms and Rockman gave his younger brother a comforting stare. "It's just that… most of the players here are humans." he answer with a sad smile. "Even though I know they can endure extreme pain inflicted from stronger opponents, I… I don't want to disappoint a friend… I'm useless, aren't I?"

"… X huh?" Rouge said, knowing who he is mentioning and the redhead nodded.

"When I was reborn in Reploidian, I only heard stories about him but I never know what he exactly look like. Everyone calls him a blue hero like which reminds me much of Rockman, that is why I was so inspired to become a hunter. Then after I saw my friends are getting stronger with no reason, I left Red Alert and by chance, I encounter Zero as I run away. Because of that chance, I got to meet X and honestly I nearly fainted when I first saw him… he looks like Rockman only older." he explained.

"Yeah, but me and Sora were way to busy on saving your world till we did save it and got a shock on seeing his face." Rouge agreed to that.

"Does he really look like me?" Rockman asked, feeling a little awkward on this.

"Yeah he does, Saito-nii." Netto said and continues where he left off. "After the seventh war, X did not accepted me to become a hunter. It is because I was so reckless and so focus on stopping the bad guys. That's not all, other hunters even dislike me because I do better in trainings and tests. The only one who saw my worth was Signas, Alia and Zero. I felt I want to cry because it was unfair till I decided to mimic X… Prioritize the victims' safety. With that, he finally accepted me into the hunters but I no longer chase the bad guys like I use to… it kinda made me sad."

"I see…" Rouge said. "But X did not stop there, he wants you to prioritize human life because he wants to fulfill his dream of human and reploids living together."

"Yeah, 'Never harm a human or you'll be labeled as a maverick.'." Netto said. "He does not want me to meddle into human affairs, I want to but I can't. If we did…"

"Just be yourself." Rouge said firmly with encouragement and the two boys looks at her. "If you have a chance to go back to Reploidian, tell X that if he wants human and reploid living together… he has to break the rules."

"What?" Netto asked and looks incredulously at her.

"You think me and Sora made the human and network relation better by just staying behind the line?" Rouge asked. "Netto, Saito, sometimes you have to cross the line and see how the others sees on their side."

The two boys just look at the dark blue navi before Rockman agrees, he have seen and experience their sister do things that are not in the mission but did good after it and the others when they were together. Heck, he did not know Sora was a phantom thief till the confession back in the farm. They talk about some of the missions she and Sora cross, till the said brunette came and told them that she and Saki made dinner.

"Okay." Netto said, as his sister walks back to the dining room.

"Netto…" Rouge called and the redhead turns. "You have the right."

"Huh?" he said and Rockman smiled at that, he knew what it means because his father told him of this before.

"She's right… like me, you have the right to humanity." Rockman said.

With that, the teen reploid is able to follow his sister with a little smile on his face.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day, Sora and Netto hangs out with Joe (the hyper one), Joe (the Condor), Saki and Kaijin. The pilot stayed in the hangar (his home base) to check the PTX-40A, making sure it is still okay. As the group exchange tales of their own adventure and heroism, the machine came and announces to the siblings of their next fight.

"Can I come and watch? Can I come and watch?" Viewtiful Joe asked as if he's a kid begging for his parents to buy cotton candy. Unfortunately, Joe the Condor and Kaijin Soki held him down and Saki bids them good luck as the machine transports them to their opponents.

**:::^*^:::**

"KYAAA!" Rockman screams in fright as a disfigured face appears in front of him and Netto/Axl just beheaded it.

"Cool! Zombies!" Sora cheered, then Axl grabs her and runs. The two just landed in a deserted mall, filled with the undead, much to the blue navi's liking

"Cross Fuse! Sis! Cross Fuse!" Axl yelped as the zombies are now going after them. Sora just miffed at him before taking out her Synchro Chip and cross fuse. He then let go of her, allowing her to run beside him. The two then takes a turn around the corner and then collided on something. "Ow…" he winces before he felt someone yank and drags them to an open space.

"You're must be our opponents." A boyish voice said as they cut around the corner. "Quick, the arena is around here."

"What…?" the redhead said as his blurry vision clears and saw a brunet in blue pulling him towards a playground in the middle of the mall. He turns to see his sister following a man, human to be exact and seems to be a ordinary citizen with a camera on his neck. Arriving at the said area, where there are blue tiles that are clean and have a barricade around to prevent the zombies on coming in. After they enter the area, the redhead finally takes a good look on the other.

His eyes widen at the brown hair boy, who shares the similar features and looks of his older brother and X. The difference on the two is that, he is still in his teens and his green eyes held such a unique hue which sets him apart from Rockman and X. Even Rockman is stun to see a look-alike (only a little older than him) and CF Rouge and Rouge are quite surprise at this.

"Well… now we got here, shall we start the game?" the man said as he takes a picture of the two and put the cap back on the lens. The blue boy just checks his equipments and his weapons, before adjusting his buster on his arm.

"Sora, one is human, the other is quite similar to a reploid." Rouge said, as her partner stretches a little and Axl checks his guns. "I think it would be safe if we go on with the "Sword and Shield" strategy but... I think you shouldn't let your brother fight at all."

"Eh? Why?" CF Rouge asked.

"Well…" Rouge said and explain about the situation Axl is in and thinks that he is not ready for this yet.

"… Very well then, let's hope I can last long to beat these two." CF Rouge whispered and nodded to her brother that she'll go first. Saluting at her, Axl jumps away and landed on the side where he would wait till he is tag. One the other side, the boy steps into the stage while the man takes a few more pictures before turning his camera off. Then the machine hovers above them, shows them the signal…

**READY…**

CF Rouge and the blue boy (who just changed his buster into a drill) are now on their guard, eyes looking straight at each other and watches every twitch or slight move.

**FIGHT!**

The blue boy dashes right in front of her with a drill on his arm, but CF Rouge jumps back and has to bend to prevent the tip of the drill on hitting her icon. In retaliation, she summons her buster and fires at him, which in turn he switch his weapon and fires his own. The two shots connects and explodes in the air, CF Rouge could only whistle as the flash and shock dies down.

"Charge shot vs. charge shot…" she said and looks at the blue boy. "That's some artillery you got."

"Thanks." The blue boy said. "But we need to win to find our way back home. Sorry."

"Same here." she quipped and dashes towards him, she slot-in a Sword Chips and hits him with it. It did some damage but he retaliates with his drill, only to miss when she jumps up. She then spins and tries to drop kick him, only to get her leg caught. He then slams her down on the floor and hits her with a sweep kick on her side. She winces but slams her foot on his chest, causing him to frail backwards. She jumps back and summons her Cannon, which she quickly released in close range. The blue boy yelps in pain, sent flying far in the arena and into the swarm of zombies. The undead swarm over him, but being a machine is quite a losing appetite for the undead and he manages to shake them off. He then dashes back towards her, buster charging up with a high energy.

CF Rouge is quickly on her guard as the boy charges his buster for a charge shot, when…

"Say Cheese!" the man said and flash a camera at her. She yelped at the brightness and is stun for a moment, which gave the blue boy to release the shot as the man jumps away. The female Net Savior grunted in pain as she receives the hit and fell to where her brother is standing.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Axl shouts, protesting that using a camera and flashing at their opponents is cheating. But the machine did not do anything and the fight goes on.

"Ow…" CF Rouge winces.

"Are you okay?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah…" CF Rouge said, as she stands up. "Get ready for the Program Advance, I'm going to end this one so I can face that man."

"Right." Rouge said. "And there's a dead guy behind you."

With that, she just elbowed the zombie and tosses it to her opponent. He just shoot the thing away and suddenly came face to face on her, as she summons a gold gauntlet.

"Gold Fist!" She shouts and punches right on his face. He fell but recovered quick and then jumps back, sore and tired from receiving most of her hits.

"Sora! You better do it now or…" Rouge's call was cut off, when suddenly the boy tag his partner and CF Rouge receive a jump kick on her face. "That happens…" she trailed as her operator was sent crashing back to the barricades.

"Ugh…" the brunette winces and got up. "Next time, warn me a little early?"

She then charges back and summons her chain to strike him, the man manage to block it and grabs the chain. "Here we go!" he shouts and pulled it, she squeaks as she fell forward…

And then… the man just suddenly transform into the blue armor of X and released a charged shot at her. Too stun at the sight, she did not made any move to avoid the shot and is hit.

"Sora!" Axl shouts as his sister fall on her back wincing in pain. 'Come on… tag me before you faint!' he thought frantically as she roll to the side, avoiding the man's bat and got up as she grunts on the pressure on her wounds.

'Man, that was totally unexpected.' CF Rouge thought, as she summons her Shotgun and tries to distract the man to tag her brother. However, the man avoids the shots and rams on her. He then grabs both of her leg and begins spinning around… and tosses her on the ground, knock out of her Cross Fusion.

Sora groans in pain as the machine transport her back in the side as her brother jumps into the fight. She slowly sits up and checks her PET and partner, before looking at her brother with worry. She knows her brother is in a dilemma because of his 'problem'.

She made a mental note to bash X when she have a chance to get back to Reploidian.

But right now she worries over her brother, who is blocking the man hit and jumps back to create much space between him and the man. Then…

"Don't worry, Sora-nee…" Axl said, as he summons his guns and looks at his sister with a smile. "I'm your brother, after all."

And with that, he charges at the man who is just ready to hit him with a golf club. Suddenly he skids and jumps over him before he is hit by the club and shoots to disable him of it. He then leans back, did a spin kick in the air and hits the man on his shoulder. To his surprise, he didn't hear a crack and is relief that he didn't break a bone or two, but he do manages to send the man flying across the arena.

The man got up and dust himself off before dashing at the redhead. But Axl just hops away and taunts him a little before he hit's the man with the side of his gun, then shoots the man back with both of his guns. The man just skidded and holds his side, before he points at the top and a zombie fell on the redhead. Sora and Rouge looked at one another as Rockman scream in fright before he kicks it away. Axl is then hit by a grocery cart with a zombie in it, he mutters about annoying undead before avoiding another cart by shooting it's wheels and kicking it back to the man. It hits him but he quickly recovers and tries to put a weird looking helmet on him, but Axl just dash above him.

The young hunter then shoots the man but he manage to recover from it. The man throws some punches but they are either blocked or missed, and the redhead retaliates by punching back. But the man grabs his arm and throws him over his shoulder, Axl winces at that before rolling to the side to avoid the foot. He jumps away to make gap once more, but the man rams on him and did the same move he used at Sora that knocked her out. The difference is he toss him up and just take out a huge baseball bat from behind, a really long and big one. But he did not make a homerun when the teen reploid quickly activates his hover system and shot the bat away.

"Here I come!" Axl shout and activated this Copy Chip. He glowed and transform into a giant Metool, which he drop himself on the man and steps on him. After that, he transforms back and saw how much damage he made… he just knock the man out.

"**Alright Netto!" **his sister cheered as he gave her a peace sign before he gets a hit right on his middle and stumbles back.

Axl looks up to see the blue boy, he changed his drill with a buster and is charging up. He release the charge shot and the redhead quickly jumps over it. Then he fire rapidly at his opponent who blocks and avoids in respond. The blue boy then released his machine gun to the young hunter, and the redhead just dash to avoid getting hit. But the blue boy is suddenly right in front of him and lands a punch on the middle again. Axl staggers a bit before dropping to the ground to avoid a charge shot, he then thinks of a way to beat him as he stands and avoid his attack.

'Okay… he's almost like X, he can switch weapons and all but he cannot copy an enemy's move.' Axl thought as he blocks an attack. 'But I bet he couldn't do this!' All of the sudden, he throws his guns at the blue boy and charges at him.

"What the hell is my brother…" Sora is cut off when Axl takes out a long metallic stick with two sharp saber curved-blades on each sides from his back. "Never mind, he has a double scythe."

Then it took her a full 10 second to realize… "Wait! My brother have a double scythe? No fair!" she squeals as Rouge shakes her head and she too is surprise to see Axl to have such weapon in his subspace. He swings one of the edge to the boy but he leans away to avoid it, then he stops and swings the other edge to the boy's back and is hit. The boy winces as he is drop to the ground and is hit again by the side of the scythe which sent him to the other side. The hunter charges at his opponent, grabbing his guns on the floor and swings his scythe. But he manage to recover and blocks the scythe with his drill, then lands a punch on the redhead.

Axl winces at this but ignores it and push his scythe as the drill counters. Both weapons neither budge as sparks flies and both are determine to hit each other. Then Axl just drop his scythe and jumps back, causing the blue boy to fall forward. He then take out his guns again and fires rapidly at his opponent, smoke builds up and covers his target as he lands a few meters from him.

He then waits, with his guard up, as smoke begins to clear and shows… the blue boy have fainted on the ground

**WINNER! Axl/Netto and Sora/CF Rouge!**

With a smile, the young hunter fell on his bum and winces on the pain on his stomach. After massaging his injury, Axl stands up and lends a hand to the blue armored boy.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as his sister and the man came over them.

"Yeah…" he said and stands up with his help. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." the young reploid said. "I'm Netto but call me Axl when I'm wearing the armor. This is Sora, my sister, Rockman, my older brother and that's Rouge, my sister's partner." he said, pointing at each of his siblings and the elder navi respectively.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Megaman Volnutt, but you can call me Megaman." the armored boy said then introduces his partner. "And this is Frank West, my partner."

"Nice to meet you, Megaman and Mr. West." Sora said and they shake hands.

"Man… That was some punch, are you sure you didn't equip your arm with a bulldozer or something?" Axl ask, still feeling the soreness on his midsection and Megaman just sheepishly scratch the back of his head. Sora checks on her brother and tells him that they don't have enough equipments to see if his stomach is okay… well, most of them are left in SciLab and their base is across the city.

As they worry on something about loose wires and sort…

"Um… maybe, I can help?" Megaman offered.

**:::^*^:::**

"Well… you're still in one piece, so you don't have to worry." a blonde girl in red said, as she shuts the lid and the New Gen Reploid got up from the table, happy.

"I'm glad to hear that." Axl said, as he hops of the table. After thanking her, he went to meet up with Megaman and Frank who are exchanging stories with Sora in the living room. Megaman invited them to their home base, which happens to be a ship filled with blocky-like robots called Servbots.

"Okay… Megaman here is a digger, who looks for refractors for energy in your world." Sora points it out and looks at Frank. "And you are a freelance reporter who is stuck in a zombie infested mall in Colorado…"

"That right." Frank said, who seems a bit sour on the term 'stuck in a zombie infested mall'.

"And here's a tip on the easy way on killing zombies… shoot them by the head or behead them or heck burn them." Sora advises the photojournalist and he nodded at the advice.

"I see." Frank said, as he takes a picture of of her and Rouge. "By the way, what is that girl hologram on your shoulder?"

"Oh, Rouge? She's an Internet Navigator or Net Navi for short." Sora said and went on a full explanation about the subject. And then they talk about the tournament and how Frank and Megaman got participated in it. Megaman and his childhood friend, Roll, are digging for refractors when a strange light bought them to this world with an unpleasant welcome by the Galactors. Frank, on the other hand, was trying to beat a psycho when a light took him with the psycho in another world. He was thankful that another dimension traveler, who goes by the name of Chun-Li, save him by kicking the psycho down. However, she was not his partner and he met Megaman while looking his supposed home base.

And he is not amuse on having a zombie infested mall as his home.

"Well… on the bright side, it didn't spread the virus and all." Sora said.

"But they keep appearing out of nowhere during the fight." Frank answered.

"Touche." Sora replied at that.

"Okay… So, who are still in the tourney?" Rouge asked.

"Hold on…" Roll said and turns the computer on, she then scroll the pages and the four checks it out.

"Gan and Ai are out of the ranking… so does Golden Lightan." Sora muttered and checks the list once more.

"Casshan and Tekkaman Blade won the fight against Ken the Eagle and Polimar." Megaman said and seems to brighten a little.

"You know them?" Rockman asked.

"I only met Casshan once during an attack a week ago." Megaman said and looks at the board then is a bit surprise on who their new friends are facing. "It looks like… you'll guys are going to face the Doronjo Gang and Karas."

"Eh who?" Axl asked.

"From what I heard, Karas is quite a mystery fighter and does not speak that much. The Doronjo Gang however…" Megaman said and looks back at the picture.

"Are the annoying bunch." Frank said as he checks his camera and Megaman just laugh at that, as Sora and her brothers looks at one another. Then Sora protested on why Axl got a double scythe in his arsenal, and in Axl's defense the scythe came from his fallen mentor, Red. Although she's upset about it, she let it go and he laugh sheepishly about it.

**:::^*^:::**

As Megaman said, their next fight is with the Doronjo Gang and Karas on the next day in a Transylvanian castle. And true to Frank's word, Karas is like a shadow due to it's fast moves and attack. And the Doronjo Gang… are annoying, as in the Doronjo would just kick and pose while her lackey does all the attacks. Beating them is quite easy… one, the Doronjo gang is the typical bumbling-group thing, so it's easy to take them out. And Karas is too focus on the direct approach, which is why he did not notice the Boomerang coming back at him. And so they won their fifth fight

The next fight is in a Japanese styled garden and their opponents are Jun the Swan and Morrigan, it wasn't a hard fight but it look them a bit of time because they have to avoid Jun's Yoyos and Morrigan's shape-shifting tentacle things. Thankfully they have long ranged weapons and good aim and swipe the sixth win, not to mention Sora befriends the two ladies but Axl seems to avoid the bat lady.

The seventh and last fight is with Casshan and Tekkaman Blade. The fight is hard, considering Casshan is a speedy robot and Tekkaman Blade has that Tek Lancer and Voltekka. Not to mention that they are down right to business on winning, thus the battle drags on. Only when CF Rouge switch into her Lancaster Armor and set up a strong defense and Axl used his Copy Chip, the siblings manage to wear them down by avoiding and blocking the hits. Then they counter with their strongest attack, Tekkaman Blade is knock out but Casshan strike out CF Rouge of her Cross fusion. Then Axl did the most daring move… he copied Casshan's DNA and transforms into him. Axl-Casshan then used his opponents moves on Casshan and knocks him out. Thus winning the seventh fight.

But after befriending the two men…

"Whoa! What's going on?" Axl yelped as their surroundings became warped and swirls around them.

"Sora! Axl!" Both Casshan and Tekkaman Blade shouts and the siblings notice that their new friends are fading away.

And then all they see is black, pitch black…

Then something glowed behind them in a bloody red color, the two turns to see an outline of a round thing. The light came back and the arena is revealed, Sora could guess that the battlefield they're in are Aztec or tribal style. They then saw who is their opponent is… it's a giant brown ball with red linings around it's body.

Or better known as Yami, which Axl heard from Frank.

"Yami? As in dark?" Sora asked as she cross fuse once more.

"Yeah, Frank said that he once saw this thing as he was transported in this world." Axl said as he prep his guns. "I guess it the thing that transported us into this tourney."

"I see…" CF Rouge said and summons her chain. "Beat this and everything will be normal?"

"I think so." Axl said as the machine arrives and shows the sign: **READY… **"I'll go first." he said and his sister nodded with a small smile then jumps away.

**FIGHT!**

The ball roars at him and a mallet appears from it's body. "You really need some upgrades, you know." Axl said sarcastically at it and avoids getting hit.

"Don't jinx it, Netto-kun." Rockman said.

"Hey, when it a finale, they always save the best things for last." Axl said as he shoot at it before taking out a new weapon

"Then why are you…?" Rockman asked then the monster roared in pain as his brother launched a bazooka at it.

"Just to get things over with." Axl said and avoids a saw that pops out of it's body. "Well… the gloves are off!" And charges towards the ball

* * *

Silver: Aw man, I can't wait for Marvel vs. Capcom 3! (grins like an idiot) Zero has finally join in the fray! Also for those who wanted X to be in the tournament… It seems to be impossible.

Cam: Eh? Why?

Silver: I'm not good at psychology but I'll try to explain. X dreams of human and reploids living to together, right? So if he hurts a human, even if the human is a superhero and all, that might cause some problems.

Cam: I don't get what you mean…

Silver: Okay, firstly X is a pacifist or against violence, it was shown in MMX7. Second, he believes that he will be labeled as a maverick if he breaks the Three Laws. If he did, that will cause him some trauma or a fright because he understands that, unlike reploids, a human life can't be fixed. This is why he prioritize Sora's safety first during missions (which is quite a pain on her side) and he is quite proud on Axl for protecting her (having no clue that they are blood-related). Third, is mostly the promise he made with his creator, that he will create a peaceful world where humans and robots can live together. These are what made Zero and X different, Zero will not hesitate on completing missions even if he hurts someone (or himself)… X, on the other hand, will put priority on the victim rather than the mission itself (or even himself)… Which is why he did not accepted Axl in the Hunters because of his recklessness that is similar to his red partner (one is enough he thinks).

Cam: I see… Since X has no experience on fighting against humans, that going to be his handicap in the tourney.

Silver: Bingo! And X is the reason of Axl's approach to human life in this story… in order to be accepted, the New Gen Reploid have to change his style. The blue hunter didn't know that Axl has the privilege and the right to humanity, because he is a hybrid, half-human and half-reploid. So… our redhead will be having a hard time changing back into his old style, but thankfully, his brother and sister are there to support him all the way. Merry belated Christmas and advance Happy New Year! For the readers' present… After fight or Victory quotes from Sora and Axl/Netto!

**

* * *

**

**After Fight/Victory Quotes:**

**Sora/CF Rouge:**

Almost! But not close, (o). Better luck next time!

Dang that was some fight, you don't mind if I spar with you anytime soon?

I've been saving the world, saving another world… but a tournament of heroes definitely takes the cake here.

What's up with them, are you sure we're not in a manga or anime or something?

Talk about cutting close, ne, (p)?

Are you alright,(p)? If not, I'll have to bring you to the base.

I'll say this once and I'll say this once again… This world is extremely NUTS! … But I definitely don't mind!

Why is all the worlds' oddities are kept throwing themselves at me?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Alex: Okay… what's with you and getting so rip?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Axl/Netto: Netto-kun! Are you okay! Did I hit you too hard?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Batsu: We need a disciplinary committee in this school. Because with all the high school rumble, you're bound to cause serious trouble.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Casshan: You know… if you could talk to someone about your problems, then you wouldn't be so alone

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Chun-Li: I've seen martial arts in movies, but those lightning kicks stings for real!

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Doronjo: Rouge, is it me or are those people just practically fail to be villains?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Frank West: Hey, if you take a pic, I want a copy too!

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Gold Lightan: … I'll have to thank the fact that I have experience on fighting bigger foes…

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Ippatsuman: Oops… um… do you need a medic? (Rouge: I told you not to use the Program Advance!) Shut it Rouge!

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Joe the Condor: Dude… Why so serious? Lighten up!

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Jun the Swan: If you need any help on becoming a normal, don't hesitate to call me!

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Kaijin no Soki: Not bad, you're quite on par on a swordsman I know…well, two actually. (Rouge: It's four, Sora.) Oh… I forgot Laika and that Blues and Enzan are different people.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Karas: Cool! Are you into horror movies? No? Awww…

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Ken the Eagle: Science Ninja…? I heard of odd jobs and courses but this is the first time I heard of this.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Megaman Volnutt: Whoops! My mistake! Yet… you look like a teen version of my nii-san and X though.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Morigan: What's up with you and porno? And are you Dracula's missing wife?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Polimar: Wheee! That was some sweet ride! Can you do the twister again?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. PTX-40A: Umm… Hello? Are you okay in there? (Rouge: Do you want me to plug in it's mainframe to check on the pilot?) Yes please.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Ryu: Whoa! Wait. Have I seen that move before?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Saki: I really admire your resolution on defending your world, but can't you pick a better boyfriend?

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Sora/CF Rouge: I don't know what to say… but I guess your greatest enemy can be yourself. I'm glad I've overcome mine now.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Tekkaman: Holy Crap! That lance is sharp! But still… nothing beats a light saber! Even though I don't have one.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Tekkaman Blade: Don't worry, I'm sure you can get your family back. So don't think of revenge and hating them, because it will not help you at all.

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Viewtiful Joe: … I don't know whose much worse… him or the tweebs on high? (Rouge: Oh fish sticks…)

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Yatterman-1: You don't mind swapping some plans? Cause I want to make some cute robots like yours!

Sora/CF Rouge vs. Yatterman-2: Not bad, but please stay away from my brothers and don't even think of disassembling them.

**Axl/Netto:**

Sorry, but your moves are way too flashy thus they are quite predictable.

I hope X will forgive me on this.

Yikes! Um… are you okay, (o)? Please don't tell the federation about this.

We did it, (p)!

If Zero was here, he would say that this is the most pathetic fight he'd ever seen.

Phew… if it wasn't for your backup, (p), I would have been toast!

I better be careful on the next fight, if not I might be labeled as a maverick!

Wow… I'm thankful on the fact that I'm a reploid… wait, how many times did I thank about this?

Axl/Netto vs. Alex: Man, for a human, he can throw a mean punch! I'm gonna feel this in the morning!

Axl/Netto vs. Axl/Netto: Even with your Copy Chip, I doubt you can fool my family and friends.

Axl/Netto vs. Batsu: Seriously, what's wrong with this school and they're all muscle bound?

Axl/Netto vs. Casshan: You remind me of someone but he's quite an opposite from you... he believes that robots and humans can live together.

Axl/Netto vs. Chun-Li: Ow… I think I feel some bolt loose by your kicks. (Rockman: I'll go get Sora.)

Axl/Netto vs. Doronjo: … Now I know where Team Rocket originates…

Axl/Netto vs. Frank West: Ah! Wait! Don't publish that picture!

Axl/Netto vs. Gold Lightan: It would be scary if Transformers exist… I would no longer trust my Chaser or my mp3 player by that.

Axl/Netto vs. Ippatsuman: Rockman… this guy got come kind of hero complex of sorts. (Rockman: True…)

Axl/Netto vs. Joe the Condor: You remind me of Zero, he's always serious and stiff… real stiff.

Axl/Netto vs. Jun the Swan: Ack! That thing is sharp! That… wait, is that a yoyo?

Axl/Netto vs. Kaijin no Soki: Woah! You know if you could meet Zero, I'm sure you'll both have a swell time discussing about swords.

Axl/Netto vs. Karas: A Maverick? No… you're organic but why do I get a feeling that you're infect of sorts?

Axl/Netto vs. Ken the Eagle: Errr… Science Ninjas…? Shouldn't they wear black and hide in shadows instead of being flashy and in bird costumes?

Axl/Netto vs. Megaman Volnutt: Seriously… it's like Rockman's the kid, Volnutt is the teenager and X is the adult… what is this? Stages of life?

Axl/Netto vs. Morrigan: S-stay away from me! (Rockman: I think this is Meiru's fault… I'll blame her for this one.) Sora-nee! Help!

Axl/Netto vs. Polimar: Yikes! His attacks manage to send me up in the air! I'm glad that I can hover to slow down my fall.

Axl/Netto vs. PTX-40A: Oh wow… If that's a Ride Armor, that's going to be labeled: Overkill.

Axl/Netto vs. Ryu: Wait… did he used X's move and he's a human? What's up with this world?

Axl/Netto vs. Saki: Hey… Are you okay? Ummm… can you not report this to your superiors? Please?

Axl/Netto vs. Sora/CF Rouge: Wait! Why the hell are we fighting one another? Aren't we suppose to be looking for clues? OW!

Axl/Netto vs. Tekkaman: Space Knights? Sounds more… reasonable than Science Ninjas in bird costumes. (Rockman: I have to agree with you there.)

Axl/Netto vs. Tekkaman Blade: Oi… I have met a lot of guys with shady and gloomy past, you know. Frankly, this takes the cake, yet don't let anger get to you or you might not achieve your goal.

Axl/Netto vs. Viewtiful Joe: Ugh… Now I know how nii-san, X and Zero feels when I'm high on sugar.

Axl/Netto vs. Yatterman-1: Not a bad fight. But before you go… can you put my arm on the right place?

Axl/Netto vs. Yatterman-2: I wouldn't mind you taking interest in reploids, but please ask permission first to my sister first if you want to examine me.

* * *

Silver: Sorry about the late updates minna-san, I'm being lazy and the graduation exhibit is killing my time and my brain. So expect irregular updates till the summer. And yes, I notice I rushed the whole tournament... but I'm considering side stories of the crossover saga just to make it up... that is if you want it?

Cam: I have no excuse except I have to rewrite the whole thing… I thought the Code and Geass are devil power, but in fact it's part of mankind! My mistake! DO'H! Anyway, I might email her my story after graduation.

Silver and Cam: _Don't forget to read and review!_


	30. Parallel Tournament! PRIZE!

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Parallel Tournament! PRIZE!**_

Silver: Okay, I'll admit one thing… I am extremely lazy. Ehehe…

Cam: Lazy…

Silver: I said I was sorry!

Cam: … No wonder we did not work out long ago. Anyway, this chapter is written mostly by me…

Silver: Which is written in script-style and is not allowed in this website, which I ended up rewriting and adding a few stuffs it in.

Cam: Hey, you kept leaving you readers on the edge and hanging… and what about these author notes?

Silver: And this is my story.

Cam: … Whatever, enjoy the fic everyone.

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird and Syber Cam does not own the Rockman series or Capcom… and they certainly do not own Tatsunoko… it will take years for them to conquer it.)

* * *

**Parallel Tournament! PRIZE!**

"Whoa!" Axl yelped a bit as he jumps back to avoid the mallet. Landing a few meter from his opponent, he locks on and shoots rapidly on it. The ball roars in pain and tries to death roll the hunter. It did not work because he air dashes above it and continues to shoot at it.

Then…

The monster roars in pain and Axl got the feeling he got it.

"It's over?" Rockman asked, when the ball suddenly shakes and covers itself by the dark mist. It reappears gaining small legs and huge yellow, whip-like arms as the red markings turns yellow.

"Not really." Axl replied.

"Oi! It's my turn!" CF Rouge shouts from the sideline and waves at her brother. Nodding at this, he tags his sister and jumps into the sideline as she jumps into battle. She slowly nears the enemy as she waits for the signal.

**READY…**

She summons her chain, ready to throw it to a specific part of the monster.

**FIGHT!**

CF Rouge jumps back before she is hit by the larger whip by the monster, she then throws her chain on the joins that the whips are attach on. It roars in pain as she quickly retrieve her chain. "Mega Cannon! Slot-in!" she shouts as a blue large cannon forms in her left arm and fires.

Only it was slapped away by the huge whip, hitting the ruins nearby. "Oookay… that didn't work." she quipped.

"Look out!" Rouge shouts, but the warning came too late when the ball went near her partner. It tucks it's legs back into the body and spins wildly, causing to hit and sent her flying. She crashed on a broken wall, making it even more broken by a CF Rouge-shaped hole before it crumbles down.

"Ow…" CF Rouge grumbles at that.

"Sora! Are you okay?" Rockman shouts, then suddenly senses a very frightening thing and saw his sister giving him a death glare. "So-sorry! Standard question!" he squeaks.

"Still, don't just sit there like a statue fountain! You got a monster to beat!" Rouge advised her as her partner gets up, then she jumps back into the battle.

"Whoa!" She jumps back as the monster swings the whip and she slot in her X Buster. "X Buster! Charge Shot!" she shouts and her buster glowed. She then fires it to the ball and hits it by the… well, she couldn't tell which is the front or the back because the arms kept switching positions.

The ball roars and tries to attack her, but she hops out of reach and strikes back with her chain. The monster kept doing the spin attacks, the ones where you have to tuck in the legs, and CF Rouge got a strategy on it. All she have to do is to distance herself from the whips and then strike with her chain or shoots with a charged shot. It wasn't take long for her to beat the ball, sparking out by the damage…

… Again, it gets surrounded in the darkness and when it reappears, the ball is in a new dark color with dark red linings. It then rolls to the side to detach a part of it, and that part takes a shape of a claw. The claw moves and the Net Savior notices the eye on the palm of it as it roars viciously at her.

"… Well… they did say third time is a charm." CF Rouge quipped as the whole surrounding turns dark.

"Try to be more careful, Sora." Rogue reminded her and the brunette just gets into her battle stance.

"_Netto!" _She called.

"_What is it, sis?" _Axl asked.

"_How about we strike it together and then switch?" _She suggested.

**READY…**

"_Sure." _Axl said and removes the safety of his guns.

**FIGHT!**

"Here we go!" CF Rouge shouts. "Program Advance! Beta Sword!" as a light takes shape of a long sword.

"Transform!" Axl shouts as the light wraps around him and takes form of Wild Jango. Both siblings strikes at Yami and made quite a hit, nearly stunning it. But the beast only have gotten more angry and roars at them.

"Good luck!" She quipped at her brother and jumps into the sidelines.

With a smirk, he activates his boosters and fly into the air. He then release a barrage of shots at the ball, but it lashes it's claw, creating a twister and he got caught in it. "ACK!" he yelps as he gets twisted around, before the twister throws him away and lands down on the front.

"Netto! Rockman! Are you okay?" CF Rouge shouts.

"Spinny…" Rockman whined, being in a PET doesn't mean he's immune to the effect of that crazy ride.

"Ugh… I think I'm gonna barf on this." Axl muttered as he gets up and forcefully shakes off the dizziness from his head. He almost dodge the incoming claw, thankfully the hit is not to strong as he jumps away from the ball. After making distance from it, he quickly summons one of his guns in his arsenals. "Spiral Magnum!" he shouts, as he shot at the claws causing the monster to back away.

"Okay… Bound Blaster!" one of his guns takes a different form and shoots round blue shots, that seems too bounce when it hit's the target or the wall. This however is backfired when the monster got quite annoyed and swats them back to Axl. "ACK!" he yelps in pain.

"That was a bad move, Netto-kun." Rockman commented, as his brother gets up.

"Oh, like you have any help?" Axl snapped.

"Hey!" the blue navi snaps back.

"OI! Quit with the sib rivalry and look out!" CF Rouge shouts at them as she points at the monster.

The brothers looks up to see the claw emitting a strong light then burst into flames. It then shoots a flaming laser to the ground, then moves it towards the young hunter. He yelped in response and quickly jumps into the air to avoid it, then he shoots back with Black Arrow. Yami then slashes his claw and sent a yellow energy at the red head. He blocks it and sent back an energy slash of his own by his double scythe. The monster fist it's claws and attempts to smash him.

Only to be switch by his sister, who shot back in defense.

"Good luck, Sora-nee!" he cheered as he jumps into the sidelines.

"Don't get yourself in a fatal situation!" Rockman reminded her also.

"Gee, thanks Rock-nii." She sarcastically replied as she felt Rouge laughing a bit in her.

Yami didn't take heed on who it's opponent is and just pointed at her, seconds later, fire fell from the sky. Thankfully, she manage to use Area Steal to escape the flames and get behind it.

"Too close for comfort." Rouge commented, as CF Rouge activates her A.R.M.O.R. System and changes into her Nora Armor. The Nora Armor is consist of a grey jump suit, a black and white armor (even her dress coat), her dress coat became wing-like, has some gold blades on the wrist and ankles, and has a lot of straps and crown decoration on her. Axl whistles on the said armor which is equal to X's Ultimate Armor, as two pairs of red orbs with golden rings appears around her. The orbs spreads out an energy aura which takes forms of a butterfly's wings. She then hover a few inches off the ground and floats.

"… Oh wow… That will make X's Armor quite… so yesterday." Axl said.

"Well, girls are way more creative." Rockman quipped.

Yami snaps it's claw and some flaming rocks fell from the air, aiming for her. But the orbs reacts and one of them forms a shield, it blocks the flaming rocks and simply waves them off. CF Rouge then waves her hand, the orbs then flies off to strike on the beast. One fires a strong beam, a pair sent an electric shock to it and the last one sent a burst of flame to it. The monster roars and tries to get rid of the orbs, only to fly back to their master. One attach itself to her arms and takes form of a white and gold buster, which she quickly charges up.

"Arcanum Shot!" she shouts, as she released 5 charged shots at the ball. Three hit's the target while the two missed due to it backing away.

"Frankly, I kinda miss using this armor." Rouge commented. She got this armor during the Nebula Grey incident, around the time she reached the Tadashi Hikari Program. The elder knew that someone would try to complete the program, which is why he created the ultimate armor for the female navi. However, the problem with this armor… it's too strong, which is why she only uses it against Nebula Grey and Proto(1). Forte was even part of the list but after saving him and clearing the differences, he is now considered a friendly rival. That made them decide to store the Nora Armor away… till now.

"Yeah." CF Rouge agrees and one of the orbs shields her from an incoming twister that Yami sent. She notice the ball's color which seems to be more darker than before, then looks at her brother and he gets the message. "Time to end this!"

With a wave of her hand, the orbs flies above Yami and circles above it. Axl transforms into… a red reploid with a white, futuristic fox-head and has nine white, red and yellow tails behind him. The two then strikes at the beast, Axl-Ninetails charges at it while CF Rouge charges up her attack and strikes the monster with Nine Fragments. It roars in great pain and tries to grab the New Gen, when he dashes back to his sister and the orbs above glowed white.

"Limit Break!" she shouts and the orbs connect each other with a beam of light, and then releases a massive, colorful beam just right above Yami.

"Whoa! That is like Zero's Rekkouha and X's Nova Strike!" Axl yelled in awe, as he transforms into his original looks.

Suddenly the ball burst into blue flames, it core revealing slowly before it flashes with odd symbols… and vanish.

"… It's over?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah… I think-" but the brunette is cut off when the place begins to shake. The sibling yelps as the floor crumbles and the rocks nearly hits them. "We need to get out of here, NOW!" she shouts, as the orbs flies back to her and forms wings for her and Axl activates his booster.

Both flies away from the crumbling grounds and search to the away out. To their luck, Rockman finds a crack which a light seeping in and there they quickly exit before the place vanish into darkness.

**:::^*^:::**

Netto hears some noises and opens his eyes… only to meet a rather chibi-looking monkey, right in front of his face. "Wah!" he yelps and with his loud voice, the monkey jumps away and his sister jerks awake from the bed beside his.

"Whowutsits?" She yelps as she sits up quick. Rockman and Rouge heard the commotion and appears on the top of the drawers, where their PETs are.

"Morning Sunshines!" Rouge greeted them.

"Ha, ha, I see you've met Data." Rockman said with a smile, as the door near Axl burst open and Viewtiful Joe comes in… quite dramatically with a pose.

"HOLY COW! You guys just won the tournament!" he exclaimed, as Casshan, Joe the Condore, Ai, Gan, Morrigan and Jun came in to see if the two are okay. "You guys are the CHAMPIONS!"

"We won?" Netto asked, looks at his sister and she looks back at him before it sinks in. "HOLY CRAP! We beat Yami!" he said with excitement and Sora grins in agreement.

"But we have a problem…" Jun said as the rest of the group who joined the tourney, aside from Karas, Gold Lightan, the Pilot of PTX-40A and Tekkaman Blade, enters the room. They all look serious and disturbed on something.

"Why? We won right?" Sora said. "We should….!"

"What's wrong, sis?" Netto asked, as the brunette also gains a disturbing look.

"The reality should been fixed and we get to go home… but we're still…" She muttered and looks at her brother as if she was been struck. "We beat Yami but reality is not fixed!"

"Then… Yami is not the source of the disturbance between reality?" Netto asked, quite shock that this.

"Frankly, that creature is not." Casshan said as both siblings groans in disappointment.

"Well, look on the bright side." Jun said, hoping to lighten the siblings' disappointment. "Now that Yami is gone, we can look properly for the thing that holds this world and us together."

The two look at one another again before agreeing to it, they then began discussing about the things they need like their bases and their enemies. So far, the bases have been maintain, except for Frank's which he and the others have literally burned down. Their enemies are pretty much separated, as in they never team up or sorts. If they do, they'll end up blackmailing one another rather sharing one goal or giving the heroes a run for their money (except Doronjo and her lackeys, they're criminals… which kept failing a lot). And aliens will be confront by the Space Knights and the Earth Defense Squad, but everyone is free to join in the intergalactic fight if they like.

As they talk about a place for them to stay together, like a apartment or a dorm, Saki remembers something. "Oh, I almost forgot." she said and opens one of the drawers nearby. She takes out a crystal clear orb with a swirl of light in it and gives it to Sora. "This fell out from the crack after you fell out of it, I think it's a prize of sorts." she suggested

The siblings takes a good look on the orb and got a feeling that it might be useful.

**:::^*^:::**

"So that thing doesn't have it." she said flatly, as she continue to type on the computer.

"Sorry dear." The lady said and pats the girl on the head. "But that ball doesn't have it."

"… It's wasting my time." a deep voice said and they turn to look at him.

"Oh?" the lady said in a sarcastic cheerful manner. "All good things goes to those who wait… keep an eye on them, they might find our… key." and with that she left the screen. Before she completely dives into the dark part of the network, she gives something to the man and then exits into the dark.

The girl just continues to type and improve her partner, then looks at her leader. "Master Sigma…?" she asked.

"Make sure you finish your mission there, human." Sigma just snarled at her and looks at the data. He then grins, knowing he'll get stronger and defeat X and Zero, not to mention those siblings too.

"Hai, Master." she replied before he left into the deepest part of the net.

**:::^*^:::**

A month after Yami's defeat, at SciLab…

The crew have found a dimension crossing capabilities in the orb, but it's not that strong and is only limited to communication. To see if it will work, Sora, the Science Ninja and Roll worked together on building a generator, which could make contact to any world…

"Okay… Let's see if this works…" Sora said, as she finish bolting the last screw and shutting the lid. Axl sits on the sofa where the camera and computer is set on the coffee table, with a lot of wires attach to the generator the brunette and the Science Ninjas made. He gives his sister a thumbs up and she nods. "Hit it, Roll."

The blonde girl nodded and activates the generator. The machine came to life and the computer lit itself on…

**:::^**_Reploidian_**^:::**

After they achieve their mission, X and Zero request a warp back to the base. As Alia teleports them back, her computer sensed something odd…

'A call?' she thought and answers it. At first the communication is not that clear, a lot of buzzing noises and a fuzzy screen. She then tries to adjust it when…

"Hey! Can you either hear or see me?" a familiar voice rang through the speakers, despite the gargling sounds and cause everyone in the room to freeze.

As X and Zero warps in, they notice the strange reaction of the staffs as they stare incredulously at the speaker near Alia. "Huh… what's going on?" X asked, before the blonde navigator rapidly types on the computer and set the big screen above for…

"Hey!" the voice rang again, this time the sounds are better and the screen clears itself .And there it shows a slightly proper image of Axl, on a sofa and slightly tapping the camera.

"AXL!" Everyone shouts and is extremely glad for that the young reploid is alive.

"Finally! We manage to get thru!" Axl cheers, fisting the air.

"Did we break thru?" another familiar voice is heard and the brunette girl appears on the screen, holding a wrench and her hands is slight dirty. "Yes! We got contact!" she cheered.

"SORA!" Hell everyone is even glad to see the human girl alive.

"And boy, you wouldn't believe what happened to the both of us." Sora quipped.

"Are you all okay?" Signas asked, he too is glad to see them both alive and well. But he hid that expression well, except for a small smile on it.

"Yeah… my sides still hurts, thanks to a flying hammer though." the New Gen commented and hold his said side, as Sora blushes and pokes it with the tip of the wrench.

"I said I was sorry!" she said, as the redhead holds his injury and winces in pain. The Hunters seems to chuckle at this, at least they know the two are getting along and doing well. "Anyway, how's it going?" she asked.

"Where are you guys, now? We'll pick you up." Zero said and the two looks at each other.

"Errr… That's going to be quite a problem, Zero-sempai." Axl said and scratches the back of his head, as Sora looks at her wrench as the most interesting thing in the world. Everyone seems confuse by this, as the two looks back at them. "You see… we're in another world."

"A parallel dimension or a alternate world to be exact." the brunette added, hoping they would get it.. Silence reigns in the center, as the staffs and hunters tries to comprehend the two's situation, whether is it true or false. And for that reason, made them a bit edgy.

"I know, we know, it's quite farfetched but believe us… we're in another world." the redhead said with much confirmation.

"W-well… can you find your way back?" X asked, somehow manages to believe on the two.

"As far as me and Axl achieved, it's the communication…" she replied, as she looks at the generator. "Anyway, there's something you guys need to know. Sigma is alive with his lackeys and we're-"

She is cut off when the chibi-monkey suddenly appears on the screen and began doing an odd dance. "Lookie me! I'm on TV!" it squeaks.

"DATA!" The two yelps. Sora grabs the monkey away from the camera and the two seems to glare at it. And all this is being watched by their Hunter friends "Do you mind? This is an important call." she said sternly at the monkey.

"Not television?" it asked.

"No…No TV." She replied as the monkey slumps in disappointment and she ushers it away. "Sorry about- WHOA!" she and Axl then yelped, when a strange looking man with a red helmet and suit with yellow eyes appears… way too close up on the screen and made everyone jump.

"HOLY CRAP! It's X and Zero! AWESOME!" he said with much excitement, as X and Zero looks at one another. "I'm your No. 1 FAN!" he literally screamed at the last part.

"JOE!" Axl shouts and grabs the small man. But the said hero of the movies just grabbed the edge of the coffee table and hangs on it. "Come on, this is an important call!" the red head grunts, as he tries to get the hyper hero off the camera.

"But they're my heroes!" Joe whined as he clings on and Sora seems to release a sigh of annoyance on all this.

Then…

"Is it me or is the generator is glowing?" Rouge's voice asked, the two youngest hunters turns to see to the side and they seems to pale.

"Uh-oh… what happened to it?" Sora asked, with a hint of nervousness in her tone. A second later, they hear a new voice which sounds worried and afraid.

"Um, guys… the generator is overheating." the female voice said as the two looks at each other and Joe laughs nervously.

"Eh he, he… I didn't land on it too hard… did I?" Joe asked and the two turns to the nervous and sweating small man who seems to be trembling in Axl's arms… before they shouts at him and he cringes and hold his helmet with tearful eyes.

"We need to get out of here!" A young male voice shouts, oddly it sounded to be quite near to Axl. Following the voice, Sora helped her brother pull Joe away from the computer and the New Gen quickly dashes out with several footsteps can be heard.

"We'll try to contact again, somehow…" Sora trailed off on that part and mutters something about over hyperactive men of sorts and bad luck. "As for now, it's nice seeing you guys again and we hope we can get back. As for now…"

She then runs away and the Hunters could hear her voice from the distance. "Fire in the hole!" she screamed and is followed by a loud explosion and the screen have gone snowy and fizzy. Everyone in the center just stood there, dumbfounded and speechless on what's going on….

Till…

"You guys have a fan in another world?" one of the reploid asked and everyone just looks at him.

**:::^**_Back with Sora and Axl_**^:::**

"Great…" Axl mutters as he digs into the ruin room and pulls out the smashed pieces of the orb. "Now, how are we going to call for help?"

"Oh… of all the luck…" Sora mutters. After the explosion, the group returns to the room to find it completely charcoal black and smoking. They then tries to see if the orb is okay and… as they see in Axl's hand, it's completely shattered. As Viewtiful Joe kept apologizing and the Science Ninjas tries to look for an alternative ways, the building shakes.

"Whoa!" she and her brother yelped and holds on each other

"Eek!" Jun squeaked and Ken caught her so she won't lose balance. Joe the Condor leans on the wall while Viewtiful Joe, Roll and Data fell on their butts on the floor.

"OW! What the hell was that?" Viewtiful Joe asked, as the Science Ninjas rushes to the windows to see the Galactor soldiers attacks the city and many of the civilians fled in fear. But some were cornered and were hurt or killed, till the heroes appears and save them.

"Galactors!" Jun shouts in alert as Joe the Condor jumps out of the window.

"C'mon everybody! We need to protect the civilians!" Ken shouts as he and Jun jumps out of the window with Viewtiful Joe whooping as he follows behind… but he stops and pulls the siblings with them.

"Whoa! Hey!" Axl yelped, as he and his sister are pushed out of the window.

"No buts!" Viewtiful Joe said with much excitement. "Cause it's HERO TIME!"

The red head looks at Sora and she looks back, as she takes out her Synchro Chip, he then just bow his head and summons his guns as his sister Cross Fuse. And as they fall into the fray, the cloak man watches from afar.

"… It's seems… I'll have to properly introduce myself to the children." he muttered as he watches the siblings fight against the Galactors with their new companions.

**:::^*^:::**

One bad thing that would happened in the battlefield is that they catch their clothes and hair burning…

"ACK!" Axl yelps as he rolls on the ground to put out the fire on his hair. When they fend the Galactors back, the Doronjo Gang just suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pulls out a flamethrower at the enemy. Sadly he, Sora, who's out of her Cross fusion when her icon was hit and Yatterman 1 and 2 are in the firing line, which causes them to run around like chickens. The brunette quickly found a hose and douse herself and then aims it to the lovers, she then switch it to her brother who just manage to put it out before getting wet.

"Oops… Sorry, Netto-kun." Sora apologizes as the Yattermans tries to squeeze out the excess water from their hats. And as revenge, the female Net Savior puts a lot of pressure on the hose and fires it full blast to the failed criminals. The trio were then push back unto a wall and are gargling to say they surrender.

"Netto-kun, is something wrong?" Rockman asked, noticing the distress look of his brother.

"My… hair…" Axl said with his lips twitching and points at it. The blue navi takes a look and tries not the laugh out right on what he saw. There is a part of the young reploid's hair that is burnt to the point it curls and turns black, or what we say… a misplaced afro.

"Aw man… this is not my day." Sora muttered upon seeing a huge burnt on her coat and some rips on her sleeves… actually one of them is ripped off.

"It looks like we're going shopping and to the hair salon for you, mister." Rouge said, she too saw the result of what the failed villains did on their looks.

However…

"Shopping? Hair salon?" the female heroes asked, for they heard quite clear from the dark blue navi and this looms a storm right on the siblings.

"Maybe I shouldn't said that." Rouge said, but it was too late for the girls grabbed their operators and quickly heads to the mall.

**:::^*^:::**

For most of luck, the girls left the young reploid in a hair salon on his own, which is to his relief. But he now pities his sister who is somewhat dragged from one shop to another, and some of those shops… are quite inappropriate to her age.

'I hope she'll be okay.' he thought as he enters the salon.

"Welcome sir! How may I help you?" a queer hairstylist welcomed and asked.

"Huh… yeah… um, can you give me a decent haircut?" Netto asked and points at the bad burnt. "Someone dared to play with fire and this happened." he stated with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"Oh dear, dear…" the queer tsked and placed a hand on his cheek. "That is a bad burnt, who lend a kid a flamethrower?"

'More like who gave those failures a pair of flamethrowers?' he thought.

After the queer inspects the burnt hair, he made some wide suggestions of hairstyles till… "Hello? What we have here?" the queer said and looks at the hair more. "It seems that your hair is not going to be orange anymore."

"Yeah, I got brown- Wait… you're telling me my orange hair is just a dye?" Netto asked, frankly surprise on this, considering he got the orange hair when he was reborn for how long?

"No silly, it's a natural color. But now, the color is fading and turning brown." The hairstylist said as he take out a book full of hair colors and flips it to the red ones. "If you like, we could dye it so it will return back to it's original, vibrant color."

He then looks at his brother and to the mirror, he then slightly bends down. True to the queer's words, on the very roots the colors are fading and soon his hair will return to it's original color when he was a human. With a small feeling of having something back from his old life, he did not hesitate asking to dye his hair brown. The queer is quite stun at this but if that's what the customer's wants, that is what he'll follow. He then leads the young reploid to the hair wash area and a lady told him to sit and relax as she washes his hair.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile…

"Seriously, I'll trip if the heels would go any higher!" Sora shouts at them and Rouge couldn't help but to laugh. Right now, she's trying on a leather overall which Morrigan suggested and she could barely breathe. "Rouge! I getting out of this." she snarled and returns to the dressing room.

"Oi, oi, Morrigan, don't you think she's too young to wear something like that?" Jun asked, as she picks out a rather pretty looking dress.

"Oh? We'll I think it suits her, considering she is a growing girl." Morrigan said quite absentmindedly.

"Well, it won't suit her." Chun-Li said as she dumps a pile of loose shirts and pants. "I mean how will she be able to fight in that?"

"… I guess that's true." the bat lady whispered. "I guess more of a "revealing" ones might suit her." as the young brunette toss the leather overalls away.

After testing, and suffering Sora mentally added, thru all the out fit's the girls pick out, none are picked and she is forced to wear her old outfit again. She and the others exits, some are disappointed that their choices were not picked. As she is dragged into new stores and trying out new outfits, she is starting to grow annoyed at this. Thankfully, Saki notices this and suggested that the brunette will pick the outfit she likes. At first, they protested before the young Earth Defender asked whether Sora picked or like any of those outfits they suggested. That rendered them silence and Sora thanked her.

With that, the brunette began looking for an outfit she likes and it wasn't long for her to find one of them… A dark blue, cowboy boots like the ones she used to wear when she was 11. Although the design is different and the Hikari symbol is missing, she bought the boots and now is looking for clothes to match. On the second floor, she found a light blue turtleneck shirt and dark blue shorts. She even bought new black leggings, and white and black gloves as well… still something is missing.

"Hmmm…" Sora thought as she walks thru the stores and looking at the windows. "I don't think a vest will do… or a jacket."

"Sora!" Ai called and waves at her, the brunette then rushes to her and the female Yatterman points at the window in a store. "I think this will do with your style." she said.

The brunette turns to see a black, short, sleeveless trench coat with silver-white trimmings and three straps attach on silver clasps. She agreed to Ai's statement, coats are much to her liking and without a doubt bought three of them… One to wear and the other two for back-up, just in case some idiots ruins it again.

The female Net Savior quickly finds a restroom to change in and once she does…

"Whoa… It really suits you." Saki commented, as the brunette came out.

"An adventurous look, huh?" Jun complimented. "Not bad."

"At least you chose darker colors." Morrigan said, partly agreeing because of the colors… she still wants to recommend her on more "fitting and revealing" outfits though.

"Yay! I knew that coat would work!" Ai cheered and Sora smiled back at her in agreement

"And to top it off." Chun-Li said and gave her a silver-white container/holster with straps on it. "This is something to put your gun into."

"Thanks." Sora said and straps it on, the first around her belt loops and the rest on her left leg. She then summons her Buster Pistol out of her PET's subspace and places it on the container, surprisingly it fits her gun.

"Hold on." Morrigan said and moves behind her. She then removes the tie that conceals the long brunette tail, and then ties it again but this time it doesn't cover. "There, you have to show that proud hair of yours." she said, satisfied on the slight change.

As the girls compliment and agrees on Sora's new look, Netto came with a satisfied smile on his face and greets them. "Hey, did Sora-nee get something new…" he trailed off when he saw his sister and whistles. "Not bad." he commented.

"Thanks- Your hair looks near similar to Rock-nii! And Volnutt too." She said. True, the front is the same spiky downward bangs like the digger's, while the back is cut in a wing-like fashion like to their blue brother. The only difference is that his hair is dark brown and is a few centimeters longer on the back. She whistles in approval and he flushes, as he scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

**:::^*^:::**

As the sun sets, both siblings bought groceries to restock their home and as they reach their base…

"Hello." a cloaked man greeted the siblings and he is leaning casually on the gate.

"You!" Sora shouts and Netto nearly flinch at her sudden explosion.

"Okay… what's going on?" he asked as he rubs his ear.

"That guy has been appearing out of nowhere near us." Rouge explained. "He even teased her friendship on reploids… come to think of it, if he didn't, Sora-chan wouldn't come after you guys."

"Ah… sorry about that." The man said and swings the gate open. "Shall we talk things inside?"

"As if!" she snapped and turns away.

"Very well then, perhaps you don't want to know about a certain item holding this world." he stated in a amusing tone. This caught the two's attention and they look at one another, then to the man. Then they began whispering and discussing if they need to talk with the man, soon after much debate….

"Fine… come in." Sora said, still on alert.

The man smiles and removes his hood to reveal the short silver hair and black eyes, seems to be muscular and bows at the two. "Thank you, and to have a bit of ease, call me Father Liberius." he said and allows the siblings the enter first. He heard Sora uttering sarcastically "what is he? A priest?" and only smiled.

Despite the etiquette and proper behavior, the Hikari siblings are still not convince and is still on their guard as they enter their home. After storing the stocks in the cabinets and the fridge, they then sits around the dining table.

"I bet you are wondering why I was following you?" Liberius asked, and he did see the critical eyes the siblings are giving at him. "Okay, I have a reason… I want to know if you're all strong enough, if you are I need your help."

"So you're stalking us?" Rouge asked.

"Not really, just needed to know… because the battles you'll enter will not be a walk in the park anymore." the man replied.

"What do you mean?" Rockman asked.

"Sigma has been gathering data from your past enemies." the siblings nearly flinches on the news and looks at one another. "And currently, is looking for… the Key".

"Key?" Sora asked.

"There are 3 Keys and one of them is what holding this world together from breaking apart after you have beaten Yami, which congratulations by the way." Liberius said and the siblings turns to look at him. "I want you to find the Keys before he gets them."

"Wait, you don't want us to go after Sigma first?" the female navi asked, knowing that Sigma will become strong if they do not delete him from collecting the data from their past enemies.

"You both have knowledge on how strong your past enemies are." as he looks at the girls. "It will be not a problem for the both of you, however it will be a problem if he gets those Keys."

"Why?" Netto asked as he crosses his arms.

"Those 3 Keys will unlock a being…" he replied. "A being with infinite strength and knowledge, and has a capability of creating and destroying worlds. If he gets those Keys and get to the being inside… who knows what will happen to both of your worlds."

Both siblings are stun to hear this, a being which is ultimately strong is being targeted by Sigma. They then asked why he needed their help, it turns out Liberius is a Gatekeeper and one of the last three who defends the said being. His partners have head off to find who would try and attempt to get those powers, and then sends the info to the silver man. However, they haven't sent back any info which led Liberius to temporary recruit Sora and Netto to fight against intruders.

"But why us?" Netto asked.

"You've crossed dimensions for a few number of times, gaining quite a strong endurance on traveling to another worlds." Liberius explained. "With that, it won't be a problem for you to find the Keys." then he gives the reploid a piece of paper with strange scribbles on it. "This is a clue for your first Key I found in this world. I need to get back to the Gate, I've been away too long."

He then stands and bows at them. "I wish you both luck." he said

"Wait, do you know anything about the programs absorbing physical attacks aside from digital ones? Usually, raw energies can destroy anything especially nukes and radiation of sorts." Sora asked, the albino looks at her and just smiled.

"Well… perhaps, the person who made them that way, is corrupt." he replied and with a swish of his cloak, he vanish out of sight. 'Young ones' he thought secretly, as the siblings looks at the clue.

**:::^*^:::**

It wasn't long for the siblings to crack the clue. With asking their friends, Morrigan mostly… the scribbles turns out to be ancient texts in her world. And geniuses around (Science Ninja, Net Saviors and some people with mystical knowledge), they learned that the said Key is in the north. Wasting no time, all who attended the tournament teams up and boards the ship of the Science Ninjas and the Flutter. As they head there…

"I don't want to go back! I want to stay with the heroes!" Viewtiful Joe whined as he clings on Polimar and crying hysterically.

"I hate to break it, but we need to get home." Netto said as he scratches the back of his head.

"Yeah, we still have our responsibility and duty to protect our world from evil." Rockman said, but sweat drops more as the small red hero cried even more.

"Well… if the information from this man is true…" Ryu said, who's just sitting beside the Tekkaman. "What will happen to this world and the people it created?"

Everyone is silent… true, if they get their hands on the Key, will this world still exist or collapse?

But before anyone could answer…

"Whoa!" Sora yelps.

"Ack!" Batsu shouts.

"Whoo!" Viewtiful Joe whooped

"Yikes!" Jun yelps, as the other are surprise too.

The ship suddenly rolled in the air, causing everyone in it to be spin around like a blender. After the ship do a barrel roll, everyone are quite dizzy except for Morrigan, Axl, Golden Lightan (who's inside Axl's pocket as a lighter) and the genie guy, who all floated as everyone got flip around like a one-ride washing machine.

"Ugh…" Ken groan.

"Ow…" Alex said in response.

"Stop… crushing…. Ai-chan…." Yatterman-1 wheezes as he tries to get the other unconscious heros off his back carefully, without crushing Yatterman-2 below him.

"I'm starting to hate this… Ugh." Sora whined, as Axl drops down and helps his sister up.

When…

**CRACK! RIP!**

"I have a bad feeling about that." Saki said before the floor breaks and collapse below yelped and screamed as they splashes into the sea below. Axl quickly transforms into Depth Dragoon before hitting the sea and tries to save much from hitting the sea below. His sister, although manage to Cross Fuse, hit's the sea with a few others.

"Sora!" He shouts in worry, floats down and frantically searches for her… only to float back into the air when a huge iceberg emerges from the waters, along with the other heroes who have fallen in. The others who are able to fly and those who are on Axl-Depth Dragoon's back, sighs in relief but the young reploid is still in panic…

He can't find his sister.

"Sora! Sora! So- Ack!" he yelps when something bright and orange just past by his sights and turns to see… a mermaid in the air, and fabrics unwraps to reveal her legs as she lands on the iceberg.

"That was too close." She said and turns to see the worried reploid. "Don't worry, I'm fine!"

"Sora?" He asked and floated down to the iceberg, which the others jump off him as he transforms back into his normal form. "Is… that a new armor?" he asked.

Her new armor… well, she's just wearing a gray jumpsuit, orange and white swimsuit-like armor with flowing fabrics attach on her waist thanks to four shell-shaped, green gems. Boots and gauntlets are not that bulky with shells and fabrics tied on the wrists and ankles each. Her helmet resembles a some shells and decorated by strings of pearls on the side. On her hands, is a trident which looks quite futuristic than the shelled ones.

"Uh this?" CF Rouge said pointing at her new look. "Yeah, it's the Sirena Armor, this can do water and ice-based attacks. And I can swim in the water with this."

"Anyway, what just happened? Frank asked, attempting to dry his jacket as the others tries to spit the salty water out or else they rust/affect their attacks or so on. As Ken signals the Flutter to pick them up…

"What the hell are those?" Viewtiful Joe asked and points at the distance.

"No way…" Rockman said in shock. "Are those…"

"Materialize viruses." Axl stated and summons his guns, he then sees something in the distance… a silhouette of a ship. "Hey guys, look over there."

"Hey, could that be it?" Alex asked.

"There's one way to find out." Volnutt said and call on his communicator. "Roll, we need to head for that ship!"

Then came a replied and as soon as they boarded the Flutter, they quickly heads to the said silhouette. But it was no easy task when they got bombarded by the viruses, most attacks are absorbed. "If this keeps up, we're gonna fall!" Roll said in alert.

"Stop absorbing all of my attacks!" Viewtiful Joe whined as he summons his cannon and fires at them… only a few got hit while the others absorbs it.

"That won't work!" Rockman shouts as Axl and CF Rouge are on the deck with a few heroes, fighting against the viruses. Basically, they really wonder how the hell can they absorb it? Usually, high quantities of energies destroy stuffs even data… but this is nuts.

"Hey guys! I can see the ship!" Chun-Li shouts as the others takes a view. There they saw a metallic and futuristic sailing ship, stuck on ice and the door on the side is open.

But there's a major problem… three Renegades are also in the way.

"That's Splash Warfly, Wind Crowrang and Bamboo Pandamonium!" Axl said in shock and his sister caught a slight tone in it.

"Do… you know them?" she asked.

As if his ears wilts down in sadness. "Yeah… Splash Warfly and Wind Crowrang were my family back when I was in Red Alert." he explained.

"Yikes." CF Rouge and Rockman uttered, knowing this will cause some sad memories on her brother, as he sighed.

"It's okay… I've already gotten over it." Axl said and summons his shotgun. "Besides, look at them." he points at the renegades who seems to be growling a lot and saw a few more which the young reploid identify as Split Mushroom on the cliff and Incentas on the beach. "I don't think they are in their right minds… and they even revive that annoying guy?" he added in annoyance at the latter renegade.

"It's true." Rouge said. "They look so angry and- WACK!"

The female navi yelped in her partner's ears as the brunette evades a charging attack from Wind Crowrang by flying into the air. "And it seems they have little common sense." CF Rouge said, as she tilts to the side to avoid the Splash Laser.

Then…

A large laser is fired behind them and hitting squarely at Warfly, both siblings turn to see Morrigan with a huge cannon behind her. "We'll take care of this! Get that Key!" the succubus shouts as Volnutt and Saki began shooting back and Tekkaman and Tekkaman Blade toss their lances in the air.

"Can you guys handle those?" the young brunet asked as he shoots down a few ghost virus and the Flutter lands on the beach, hitting Incentas and sending him into the air. "By the way, nice landing, Roll." he added.

"Thanks Axl. " Roll said thru the speakers and then a new voice speaks thru.

"Hey, we're defenders of our homes." Ken the Eagle said. "the guardians of space and protector of justice! We're… THE TATSUNOKO X CAPCOM TEAM!"

And then there is a loud explosion and it take an odd shaped before disappearing, as the rest of the crew charges into the fight.

Axl and CF Rouge, on the other hand, just stared before commenting… "Wow, they're excited." She said and turns. "And where the hell did they get those fireworks?"

"Sora-nee? What should we do?" Axl asked as he joins his sister on the air.

"Well… I guess we should head for the ship…" She said, looking at the situation. "I think they can handle this."

"Can they?" Rockman asked, then both siblings flies higher to avoid a pair of giant Metools about to hit one another and is deleted. They then saw Karas swiping his sword and Alex clapping his hands cleans on a job well done. Jun throws her yoyos at Split Mushroom as Golden Lightan came out of Axl's pocket to fight against Incentas. Frank is golf clubbing at the metools and Polimar turns into a drill machine.

Without much of a word, they both shouts at their friends to take good care of one another and they few off to the ship.

**:::^*^:::**

Landing into the ship, they both went head on with the viruses in the ship. They began looking for the Key, deleting every viruses they come across and checking each room.

"Did you find it?" his sister asked.

"Nope!" he replied before he completely stop and senses something. "Sora-nee! Do you hear that?"

"Eh, hear what?" She asked and then did hear something…

**SWISH! BZZT! CRASH!**

"What's that?" Rouge asked.

"It seems that we're not the only ones here, Rouge." CF Rouge said, she looks at her brother and he nodded.

They then both dash towards the source, taking turns down the halls and shooting at a few viruses which have gotten near. They then stopped when the noise grew loud behind the double doors, they look at one another once more and nodded as the brunette summons her buster, charging it and her brother readies his guns. The sibling opens the door to see what looks like an observatory with the giant telescope missing. Instead, there is the tear-shaped gem, about a size of an infant, set on a stand in the middle of the room. Around it is a pair of rings with odd symbols around it.

"Hey… that must be the Key." CF Rouge said as she heads for the gem, when…

"Sora-nee! Look out!" Axl shouts and grabs his sister back, as something lands on the spot where his sister was and jumps away, leaving a crater behind.

"What the hell was that?" Rockman shouts in surprise. They turn to see a blur fighting against another blur, and then they stop on a tight lock between blades.

And the siblings gasps…

"It's Meiru!" Rouge said in alert, seeing the Cross Fused, pink-haired girls gritting her teeth as she pushes her swords against a single blade.

"No way… That's…" Axl said faintly, he recognize the navi despite the slight changes, such as the flaming hair and the sleeker armor. "RED!"

**CRASH!**

"Red?" Rockman asked.

"You mean your second dad?" his sister asked, as she too is surprise and stun to see her brother's mentor alive as a navi and fighting against his former friend.

"Yeah, no doubt about it… it's Red!" he replied

The navi and the cross fused renegade continues to fight as if they are not there, but it cut short when CF Vile saw Axl. "Netto-kun!" She squealed and sets her shoulder cannon at the reploid-turned-navi. Seeing this the former Red Alert leader ducks and rolls away from the point black shot, and then kicks her from behind.

"Axl!" he called and the young reploid's face lights up.

"You're alive!" the New Gen cheered, before he gasped when CF Vile gave his mentor a swift kick away and she rushes toward him.

"Stay away from my brother!" CF Rouge shouts and released a charged shot she's been saving earlier, then summons her Elec Sword.

"Witch!" CF Vile hissed as she avoids the charge shot and summons her own Elec Sword. Loud sounds of electricity sparking angrily at one another, as she and CF Rouge clashed both of their sword. Neither of them bulges as they pushes at one another, with electricity flaring out.

"Sora! Meiru!" Axl shouts, is about to stop both of them.

"Check on him!" CF Rouge shouts, stopping her brother as she and the cross fused renegade continues to push at one another. "And didn't he tell you? He just wants to be friends." she stated, looking at the enraged pink girl.

Then her eyes suddenly glowed red in anger and manages to push the brunette back, and then sets the shoulder cannon at her most hated person. "You are a liar." CF Vile said with venom dripping in her tone and launch her attack. The attack hits and the renegade smiles, before a light emerges from the rubbles and CF Rouge came bursting out in her Nora Armor.

"Phew… that was close." CF Rouge said as she dust off her armor and avoid another shot from CF Vile. "She's off her rockers now, is she?" she asked, particularly no one.

"I'm starting to think of her as a potential threat." Rouge replied, before her NetOp flaps her "wings" and an aerial battle ensues.

"Red!" Axl shouts as he rushes to his mentor's side and helps him up.

"Axl?" the reborn reploid said in surprise to see his old charge. Well… still alive as a reploid and intact, but something's different. "You're here."

"Yeah, I'll talk about that later, but first are you okay?" the young brunet asked as he watches his sister avoids the shots, ready to assist anytime.

"Yeah, but I think your friend can handle this." his mentor said, as he looks at the gem. "We need to get that gem away from her… but…" A stray attack from either of the two heads to the gem, the rings react and shields the gem. "That's the problem… the gem wouldn't allow me to get near."

"A shield, huh?" CF Rouge said, before she blocks an Demon Popcorn. "Axl! Try to get the Key!"

"Right!" he saluted and then dashes towards the gem.

"Damn…" CF Vile hissed. "Agile! Violen!" she called and two renegade appears. Violen looks more of a blocky ape and as huge as Stoneman, while Agile looks more human, wears a light purple jumpsuit and a purple coat with a pair of swords on his side. "Get the gem and my prince!"

"Ack! Not them!" the New Gen yelped, recognizing the two from X's tales of Sigma Wars. Agile and Violen were the X-Hunters who held Zero's body parts as hostages and tries to beat his friends with it. He shoots at them to stall them enough to get near the gem, but Violen is able to withstand the shots and Agile is way to fast to get hit. "Dammit!"

**CLASH!**

"Red-sensei!" he shouts, as he skids to a stop and looks back to see Red blocking Agile.

"Quick! The Key!" he shouts, as he struggles to keep the renegade from getting the gem.

"Right!" Axl nodded and dashes away.

"Damn it… Violen! You get it!" Agile snapped as he parries against the reborn reploid.

Hearing this, Axl shoots back to keep the renegade back and stops to shoot a Ray Gun to the huge navi. But the reborn X-Hunter is missing. "What?" he said in surprise.

"Netto! Above you!" Rockman shouts in alert and his brother looks up to see the huge renegade is about to drop on them. And he is not fast enough to jump away or avoid him.

… Till a familiar rings blocked the renegade and sensing the weigh, the rings glowed and literally throws him out of the ship.

"Wha?' Axl said, quite stunned on that. Unknowingly, he passes thru and both rings just allowed him in. As the young brunet scratching his head in confusion, Red pushed back Agile and CF Rouge kicks back CF Vile. "That was weird." he muttered.

"Axl! The Key!" his sister shouts as she lands beside him and rushes toward the gem. Snapping out of his wondering, he and CF Rouge grabs the key and tries to pull it out of the stand. The only problem is… it completely stuck on it. "Come on!" she shouts.

"Hurry! I don't think Red can handle those two alone!" Rouge said, sensing the two renegade overpowering the reborn mentor as he stops them.

"Come off already!" he hissed, as he and his sister continues to pull.

"Hold on! I'll look at the stand for something!" Rockman said and in his holographic self, he flew to the stand…

Then, upon touching the gem…

"Whoa!/Whack!" both yelped when the gem went completely off the stand and nearly fell back, as the rings that protects the gem disappears and it glows. "What the heck was that?" Axl asked.

Then they hear a crack and turns to see one part of the landscape cracking like a glass, and light seeping from it. And then the ground shakes and both siblings yelped when Agile is suddenly right in front of them, and kicks them by the side. He then grabs the gem and is about to finish Axl… when…

A huge power shot grazes a few centimeters from Agile's head and he turns to see CF Vile death glaring at him. As he remembers about her unstable mind, the crack grew larger and a strong force begins to suck them in.

"Let's go, Agile, Violen." CF Vile commands harshly and turns away from the triplets. "I'll lett you keep my prince for now, witch."

She and the two renegades jumps into the crack, as the siblings and Red clings on the stand. But by the strong suction, they couldn't hold on and let go.

**:::^*^:::**

"Ack!" Both Sora and Netto yelp as they are drop on the floor of SciLab, surprising their dad, their friends and other workers on their sudden reappearance. "Ow…" they whined

"Sora! Netto! Rockman!" Yuuichiro gasped as he help his children up along with Meijin and the other two Net Saviors.

"Dang… That guy can throw one heck of a kick." Sora said, rubbing her sides.

"I want to delete Sigma badly..." Netto said with such deadliness in his tone.

"We know." Both Rockman and Rouge said in unison, then suddenly the youngest of the triplet remembers his foster dad and looks for him. To his surprise, he found him in SciLab's system and he is glad that Red made it. He then introduce him to his biological father and Red is surprise to learn that he raised a hybrid for a hunter. And with enough persuasion, the reborn-Red Alert leader becomes Yuuichiro's new navi and part of the SciLab security.

Later…

"I'm glad…" Netto said as he and his sister rest in the Net Savior Lounge.

"That's your second dad came back?" Sora asked.

"No…" he replied, taking out a group picture of them and their new friends. Frank wanted to have proof/memories to go by and everyone agreed with a group shot in their SciLab. "I'm glad that thru all this craziness, we are able to get some good things out of it. Although I wonder what happened to the others though…"

"True… but we didn't retrieve the Key that man requested." Rockman said, appearing once more. "And I'm sure they'll be okay… I mean, if that crack sent us home, then shouldn't that crack sent them back to their worlds?"

"I'm sure everythings is going to be okay, after all, we still got two keys left." Sora explained. "Once we get those two, we'll hunt down for the third and get rid of Sigma while we're at it."

"You realize that this will not be an easy battle, do you?" Rouge stated as she appears. "Remember, he's collecting data and still got Meiru and Vile on his side."

"True, but… I'll try not to hurt her too much." Sora said with a smile and Netto mess up her hair a bit. Then their friends came, along with two girls who would become part of the Net Saviors… Ciel and a pink-less Erica.

"Hey! You finally here!" Sora said cheerfully as the dark-blue haired girl glomps on her.

"Wait… wasn't your hair pink?" Axl asked, seeing Erica glomp his sister in a not-so pink hair.

"Oh that?" she replied. "Ron pulled a prank on my entire classroom and dyed everyone pink. It took me an entire week to remove it…"

"Well, pink suits you though." Rouge complimented.

"Maybe, but I like my hair better." the dark blunette said and her friends smiled.

"Well Ciel, welcome to SciLab." Rockman said, welcoming the blonde girl who smiled in return.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile…

Two lights, one gold and one dark clashes at on another before revealing themselves as Liberius and the mysterious woman.

"Oh… You're slowing quite a bit." The lady said.

"Whatever you will do, you will not find them." Liberius said and throws an energy beam at her.

The lady just waved her fan and swat the ball of energy away, then smiled at him. "Oh please… like you can stop us from getting her, especially after you lose that."

"I may not, but I know they will." he spat.

"Well… not till I find them first." she replied and turns away. "Ta ta, I do hope your chosen heroes can last long, they are quite entertaining." and then she flies off, following the light.

The silver man narrows his eyes and soon flies after her, but inside, he seems to be relief that the blasted woman haven't find out…

* * *

Silver: Okay… changing her outfit was not in the plan but Cam wrote it… so… I'm off to draw it. Also, Agile and Violen was not in the plan to appear in this chapter, it was suppose to be in the third world but Cam thinks of a three way fight at the end though. Liberius… Cam also suggested that name for the cloaked man. All those, props to her.

Cam: Yeah, also I begin to think of a good back story about Lode. I already suggested it to you.

Silver: And I didn't expect you to watch Dragon Balls, I mean, you're more on shoujo!

Cam: I didn't like Sailor Moon that much a long time ago. Anyway, good-bye minna-san, it's been a blast writing stories and all, but time for me to get serious in life and survive. I already gave Silver the script for the third world, so don't worry. I hope you can graduate soon and stop procrastinating!

Silver: HEY! And this the the longest chapter yet! 10,000+ words! OoO! Read and review minna-san!

**REFERENCE:**

1. Yes, i added Proto or Alpha in this story, when did it happen is right after Cache and her coma.**  
**

P.S. Yus! Axl/Netto is a brunet again (seriously Marvel vs. Capcom 3...) and Red comes back! ... In more of a supporting role, sorwy, Red wasn't in the plan either and Cam just place him there like that! XD! Plus a artwork of the Nora Armor... in Rouge's form, not in CF form like in this story. Check it out: http : / cyber-knight . deviantart . com/ art / Rouge-s-Nora-Armor-202619702


	31. Duel Online, One Star

(Disclaimer: Because of the additional widgets on one side of FF net, the disclaimer guy moved up. And without further ado, Plata-Azul Firebird do not own any Rockman series or Yugioh.)

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Duel Online - One Star**_

Silver: The Yu-gi-oh! and Megaman crossover! Whoopee! Okay… a bit of an explanation here… apparently, I royally messed up, BIG TIME, in my studies… Ow… and I have to take another year in college. I already know I did this to myself so don't point it out, okay? (I somehow wished XXXholic exist, then I could wish for my bad habit to be taken away.). As for this crossover, I've changed it to Yu-gi-oh after I reread a certain fic of mine… sonic just died in my mind… again… anyway, enjoy while I'm off to do the emo now. Bye!

* * *

**Duel Online - One Star**

"… It's calling them." he said to no one in particular as a light darts pass him. He looks at the direction before heading to the source.

"Well now." he said and smiled.

**:::^*^:::**

"Hey dad." Sora greeted their father as she and her brother arrives to the testing room, where Laika and Enzan are ready to test the new PET system the brunet scientist made with Ciel's help. The new system allows the other Net Savior to perform the Dimensional Suit like Sora does, but it has a timer set to protect the cross fusioners from permanently getting brain damage or forever fused.

Right now, Laika is in the Dimensional Area for everyone's, even the Sharo's, protection as the staff sets the computer to collect the data.

"I hope Laika can pull this off." Axl said, crossing his arm. After their failed attempt to call for help in the tourney before, the young reploid hopes that his two friends can gain an upper hand in this battle. They need all the help they need to collect the two remaining keys, stop Sigma's plan and to get Meiru away from him.

But as soon as the test is about to begin…

"Oh no!" Ciel yelps in surprise.

"Sora! Netto!" Enzan shouts and rushes toward them, when the siblings suddenly felt something pulled them roughly into the air like before.

**:::^**_Domino City_**^:::**

Seto Kaiba is not a happy man.

Not at all…

When his entire network system of his company was destroyed. As in the main network cannot be save, all the back-ups are infected, even the back-up, back-up are corrupted and no data are left untouched by the attacker.

This gave him a headache and is thinking of whether calling for Rebecca for help, considering she manage to hack into the security system back in the American branch.

Looking back at the screen… he quickly dials the young girl's number

**:::^**_*_**^:::**

"AH!" she yelped as she fell into the trees and lands on some bushes. "Ow… that is crap." she groan.

"Sora-chan, are you okay?" Rouge asked, worried on her NetOp.

"I'll say one thing, Rouge." Sora said as she tries to get herself out of the bush. "That truck is not a truck, but a hail in a size of a fully loaded truck!"

Now that left Rouge wondering… did she hit her head?

Then the dark blue navi realizes something. "Oh crap, where's Netto and Rockman?" she asked and her partner tries calling her brothers thru their Link.

"_Netto, Rock-nii, where are you?" _Sora called… but they didn't response, she tried calling them again but nothing. Realizing that their Link is not working, she quickly scramble herself up and out of the bushes. She quickly removes the leaves and twigs that are stuck on her hair and clothes, and then rushes out of the trees.

… Only to meet a extremely dead dragon and a blonde man wearing what look like came from a fantasy game.

"What the?" she yelp and takes out her Synchro Chip when…

"OI! Get out of the way!" a male voice shouts.

"Huh?" Sora said in wonder and looks at her sides, she saw two boys probably similar or a year older than her. The monsters on her sides are completely still, as if waiting for the two boys to pull the strings or something. And add to that, there are odd and huge looking cards either face down or upright showing the images of it. She then notices the strange plane-like wing attach on each boys' arms. Realizing she is still in the way. "Oh! Sorry! I'm sorry!" she said and trotted herself out of range.

"Okay… What the hell was that?" Rouge asked, appearing on her partner's shoulder but keeps herself hidden behind the collar of her coat.

"I have no idea." the brunette whispered then…

"Neo the Magic Swordsman!" the boy shouts, who is behind the blonde. "Attack Zombie Dragon!"

The blonde man then move and with a combination of magic and swords play, the blonde destroyed the dead dragon which exploded in pixels.

"Did you see that?" Sora hissed at her partner.

"Yeah, it seems at the monsters are computer generated or a holograms." Rouge whispered and they watches the two boys battle with monster and trick. "Feh… very unlike our world is it?"

"Very… I think this world haven't advance it's technology yet." Sora said, as she turns and walks away. "Anyway, we need to find Netto and Rock-nii and find the Key."

Her partner nodded and disappeared back in her PET, as the brunette exit's the park.

**:::^*^:::**

Rebecca is not amuse on how she is hired by Kaiba.

First, it was late in the night, well near morning actually, when he called and demanded her help… Well, he never ask or say please. Second, she was half-way finish on packing up when the helicopter landed in front of the trailer. And third, she was still in her nightgown while all of this are going on.

"He better have a good salary, because I'm not amuse on calling me on 2:50 AM and hiring me that quick!" she hissed as she hurriedly dresses up and packs her clothes and all her necessary stuffs in her bag. She then hauled the bag out and into the helicopter before climbing into it.

**:::^*^:::**

"Ugh… I'm glad that I was in my armor when I fell into the sea." Netto said sourly as he continuously kept spitting out the sea water. He was not amuse on being transported, separated from his sister and landed into the sea below. One thankful thing about his body, is that he can breathe underwater for long periods of time…

But he wasn't amuse on having to spit several time to get rid of the unwanted liquid inside of him. Plus their Link is not working at all.

"Are you sure you're okay, Netto-kun." Rockman asked.

"Yeah, it's just sea water, Rock-nii." Netto said with reassurance.

"Are you sure? Won't you rust?" his brother asked

"Nah, my body is made out of Titanium X, it doesn't rust or break… unless you hit it is weapons or something extremely heavy…" he trailed the last part.

That didn't convince the blue navi though, as he walks down the docks and heads to the city. "I hope Sora and Rouge are okay." Rockman said.

"Yeah, I hope she's doing more well then I do." Netto said, as he waits for the crossing lights to turn green.

**:::^*^:::**

"Oh wow… this is retro." Sora said plainly, after taking a ad paper of new and high-tech computers a shop is selling… well, in this world that is. "New and at the edge… really?" she said in a deadpanned tone as she threw the paper over her shoulder.

"Well… this is a different world and a different culture." Rouge said and looks around. "Well, the only thing that is advance around here is that whatever-holographic game."

"Actually, they're called Duel Monsters." Sora corrected.

"How did you know?" Rouge asked and her partner points that the ads of monsters and cards around them, along with a few boys playing in front of one shop. "Oh…"

"It seem that Duel Monsters are quite a rave in this world." her partner said, as she walks down the path and looks around the area for her brother. "Man… this place is even low tech than the tourney I attended before, at least the holograms are a bit of a blessing here… despite the fact it shows huge and weird monsters."

"Sora, a bit of a low profile here." Rouge whispered.

"Sorry… " she apologizes then saw a net café. Thinking it might help, she went to that place and decided to check the world out.

**:::^*^:::**

Kaiba, with cross arms, watches the helicopter lands on the port and his guard aid the young blonde girl on getting out.

"This better be good, Kaiba!" Rebecca shouts, as she walks briskly toward the CEO as the other man takes the suitcase.

But she only heard "follow" and the brunet turns with a swish of his coat. The blonde girl just fumes in annoyance as she ended up following him towards the IT Department. Upon reaching the said place, what she saw are employees running about, shouting and typing furiously at the keyboard. Each of them hoping to salvage any data… well, at least, to get a bonus in their paychecks.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" she asked.

The CEO just motion her to the nearest computer screen and shows her the massive damage in the network. Rebecca is stump and shock to see such a sophisticated, well Kaiba programmed it, and highly advance network system like that. Well, unlike the other network in America, this system has more defense, anti-virus and firewalls, even complicated passwords and an AI to track the hackers.

But all was destroyed in a mere day without knowing and without a trace of who or where the attacker is.

"Oh… wow…" Rebecca is speechless, she has no clue or tip that the problem was this bad… WAY bad.

**:::^*^:::**

"Amusing…" Sigma drawled on the fact that the world where the second Key is placed is practically defenses from almost nil to nothing.

Well, his crew can enter any terminal and wreck the data any time.

However, one place do have a good, but not high, defense and he seems to enjoy the slight "fun time" destroying it's network system… he might even consider using that place as his base of operation.

Meanwhile…

"Well, as predicted…" a stranger said, as it stands outside the said base of the Renegades. This navi watches as Meiru talks with the lady, who kept encouraging her to get what she wants by force in one part of the base. The navi shakes her and turns. "I know… I mustn't interfere…" the person whispers and looks up at the cybernetic sky. "Hmmm, I hope they remember…" and left without a trace.

**:::^*^:::**

"Excuse me, have you seen a brunette girl about this height and has a long tail hair?" Netto asked a stranger, who shakes her head and the brunet slumps. "Thanks…"

He then trudges off further downtown, which wasn't a problem for him… considering the other facts that he has no money, no idea where his sister is and a gang following him.

Okay, the latter is a problem but being half reploid, he got a bit of advantage.

After two hours of asking people, searching the whole area and beating the gang who tried to mob him by the corner. He also pickpocket their wallets for a few needed cash, his brother's protested in stealing but the brunet do have a good reason for that. 'Okay, why are the currency here are papers?' he thought, as he decided to head for the main city and pockets the small amount of money.

When…

"YOU NO GOOD BRAT!" a drunk and enraged shout causes Netto to jump and avoid stray beer bottles from hitting him. And then something blonde rams on him and they both lands painfully on the broken bottle filled sidewalk.

"Netto-kun! Are you alright?" Rockman hissed from his PET and not to attract unwanted attention.

"Ow… yeah, the shards did nothing on my body, but that was one heck of a push." His younger brother stated, as he pats the shards off himself.

However, the blonde who ram onto him didn't have much luck because his left arm is imbedded with the shards of the beer bottles. Hearing the drunk and angry voice again, he made quite a solid decision on helping the blonde from whoever that person is. Getting to his feet, he quickly went to the blonde and helps him up.

"Hey, are you still alive?" Netto asked as he looks back to see a totally berserk man running down the stairs. He hears the blonde groan and move, which gave enough answers for him and shoulders his uninjured right arm. They then briskly and silently move away as the blue navi serve himself as the back-watch just in case.

As soon as they manage to get out of sight from the berserk man, the brunet slowly places the blonde on a park bench and inspects the injured arm. Seeing that it's not that worse and missed the vital parts, he then hauled him to a clinic nearby.

"Ugh…" the blonde groan as they walk.

"Hey, are you okay?" the young reploid asked.

"Yeah…" the blonde replied, then realizes something… "Hey, aren't you the guy who I ram on before?"

"Yup, that's me." he replied. "Sorry about earlier, that bottle just nearly hit me."

"Meh, that's my Dad's fault, I bet he won't apologize on that." the blonde said in a dry humor and shakes his head. "Anyway, my name is Jou, Jounouchi Katsuya, you?"

"It's Netto, Hikari Alex Netto… and I got two nicknames, so it's either Netto or Axl." Netto said, and they stop in front of a clinic. As for Jou, something click in his mind but it is gone in a second. "Well, this is our stop, I still have to find my sister."

"You have a sister?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, I'm one of the triplet siblings and my sister is lost in this city." Netto said.

"I take you're not from here?" the blonde asked.

"Nope, just taking a… family visit, we won't stay for long." The young reploid said with a shrug.

Feeling the same way if his sister got lost, Jou offers his assistance on the brunet's search. The Net Savior is quite surprise and thankful on the added help and he waited for the blonde to get patch up. After a good hour of waiting, Jou came out with is left arm wrapped in a bandage and a few painkiller pills.

"Right, I think it might be better to get more help." the blonde suggested. "She could be anywhere in this city and where is your other brother?"

"He has to stay in Akihabara to watch our… shop." Netto carefully stated. "He's not very interested on visiting our relatives. If this info is helpful, I've already search the downtown area." as he points his thumb towards the place behind him while Rockman remain silent in his PET.

"Okay… downtown, out of the list." Jou said, then grabs the brunet on the shoulder and pushes him towards a certain direction. "But first we're gonna need some few additional numbers to help us on your search."

"W-what?" Netto stuttered a bit, as he is being push to a direction only the blonde knows.

**:::^*^:::**

Sora sighs…

Apparently they are in somewhat a similar world, the history haven't change but it has some difference on this current timeline. When in her world the PET are created during 200X, in this world the concepts of PET did not exist. Instead, its more on Duel Monsters and Kaiba Corps latest card game-hologram machines.

"Well… at least, we know what's going on." Rouge whispered as Sora walks around the park where she first landed in. Once she tried manually calling them thru the PET, unfortunately the wireless calls are not working(1).

"Yeah… I guess." Sora said absently, as she walks the path the umpteen time.

When…

As if time stops, she hears a voice in her head but it wasn't her brothers because the voice is a mature and wise female.

"_This world is in danger… Guide the children to find the heart of the world and return it to it's proper place…Then… Lead them to back to their true heritage." _

She quickly turns and tries to see who was contact her, but she sees nobody… 'Who the hell is that?' she thought.

"Sora?" Rouge asked.

"It's nothing." she replied.

Then… she saw a black blur ran past her and some men chasing after him. But on correcting her sight, what she saw is a boy, no older than 12 or 13, running away from those thugs.

"It seems we got a bit of a kidnapping scene around here." Sora said, normally she would mind her own business. But being a Net Savior for so long cause to change her opinions. "Shall we?" she ask her navi.

"Make sure you don't get any serious injuries." Rouge stated as her partner mouthed "yes mom" and she dashes after them.

**:::^*^:::**

Kaiba Mokuba, the only brother of the CEO of Kaiba Corp, is wondering on why is he kept being kidnapped when in the end they fail.

Or worse, his brother shows no mercy on the "kidnappers" at all.

As he turns to a corner, a hand grabs him and covers his mouth with a hiss to keep him quiet.

'Here we go again…' the young boy thought bitterly, as he is being taken away when…

A loud sound of party horns, popping, springs, farts and funny sounds filled the air, and the men who are chasing him are yelping and one is whooing… in total surprise.

"Whoops… I think I over did it again." his captor said, who happens to be a female, slightly American in accent and she releases him. He then saw who this girl is and she smiled at him. "You're okay, kid?" she asked.

"Wait… you're not with them?" Mokuba asked the girl, while looking at her suspiciously and unsure at he\is rescuer.

The brunette looks at the source of the noise when one of the kidnappers stumbles down, slides and hit's the wall. "Nope, I never met those guys in my entire life." she stated quickly, as she grab his hand and quickly runs away before they sees them.

**:::^*^:::**

"Hey Yug!" Jou greeted his spiky friend who is helping his grandfather in the shop, along with their friends, Honda and Anzu.

"Hey Jou." Yugi greeted back.

"And you're a little late." Honda pointed out, as the brunet came oin after the blonde.

"Yeah well, I bump into him." he replied, pointing at the brunet with his bandaged arm.

"Whoa, what happen to you?" Anzu asked, as the brunet looks at all the game with fascination.

"My dad happen." Jou stated, not wanting to go into any details and his friends got the idea. "Lucky for me, I… well… accidentally bump on Netto here and he is kind enough to help me out." as he slings his arm on the kid and ruffling his hair, knocking him out of his amazement of the games on the shelves.

"I see." Yugi said, as Netto manages to slip out of arm lock and tries to tame his already mess up hair. "Thanks for helping Jou… uh… Netto right?"

"Um, yeah, it's not a problem." Netto replied with a blush and a smile, but he couldn't help but stare at the boy's incredulous hair. 'Whoa… either he survives a dye war and got struck by a lightning, or he has a weird family genes.' he thought, as he shifts his eyes to a "very" interesting old board game.

Unknown to him, a certain spirit is watching and the spirit senses something…

Like this boy carries another soul.

"Not a problem? Dude, you have one, yer sister is lost, remember?" Jou pointed out, as the brunet scratches the back of his head meekly. The blonde retold his friends on Netto's troubled situation and ask them for aid.

"Don't worry, we'll help you look for your sister." Anzu said with a friendly reassurance in her tone.

"Yeah!" Honda agreed then added. "And… does your sister seeing anyone?"

"SHE ALREADY HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" a voice shouts from a device on the brunet's shoulder, which causes Honda to jump about a good 3 feet high.

"What the heck was that?" Jou said in surprise, as the brunet face palm and looks at his PET where Rockman uttered a "whoops".

'So much for a low profile.' both brothers thought, as he takes out his PET and looks on his navi before showing it to the rest of them. "Right… Um, you see, my grandfather is a bit of a techie geek and he invented this."

He showed the PET and the gang looks at it. "What is that?" Anzu asked out of surprise.

"It's a Personal Terminal or PET, ma'am." the same male voice said. Then a small holographic boy in a blue jumpsuit jumps out of the PET, slightly surprising them. "Hi, I'm Rockman, nice to meet you all." he said with a polite bow.

"Whoa cool!" Jou cheered, while Anzu commented on how cute the small hologram boy which turn his entire face red. "So are there any more of these?" the blonde asked.

Netto replied that it is still a prototype and his sister has the other. He didn't go into details of the PET except it's a miniature computer and is more compact than the laptop. When Honda asked about their sister, he found out that she already do have a boyfriend much to his disappointment.

After Rockman's unplanned introduction, the gang splits into two groups and went off to search for Netto's sister… and while they search, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle discusses about the soul in that PET to Yugi.

**:::^*^:::**

"Thanks for the help back there, Hikari-san." Mokuba said.

After the rescue and introduction, Mokuba offered her to stay in his place, while she continue with her search for her brother. The younger Kaiba felt sorry for her and he would do anything to find his older brother if he gets lost. As soon as the limo came to pick them up, the brunette made a slight face before hopping into the vehicle.

'Great… how many more rich kids do I need in my life?' Sora thought sourly. 'It's bad enough that I have Yaito, who have an army of butlers and maids. And I'm in a relationship with Enzan.'

**:::^**_Cybertronics_**^:::**

In the Ayanokouji mansion, a certain blonde girl sneezes, while in SciLab a certain vice president blew his nose right on the papers he and Laika are working on.

**:::^**_Domino City_**^:::**

Upon arriving on Kaiba Manor…

'Well… not a large property as Yaito's… much more of Enzan's, hopefully this doesn't transform into a giant mecha like what Rockman and Netto said' she thought. Once she and Rockman became close, he told him about his adventure with Netto when he was alive. During her stay in Reploidian with Netto, he told her about his adventure back when he was human. Which further solidify the story of a certain manor can transform into a huge mecha.

And once she did saw a huge gear in one part of the heiress mansion too.

The boy walks toward the huge double doors and touches a panel then presses the numbers. "High defense much?" the brunette asked.

"Eh, he, he, well…" Mokuba sheepishly said, as the doors opens. "My big brother is frankly a security freak."

"I'll say, considering you nearly got yourself kidnapped." she pointed out as he blush a little on that fact. They then enters the mansion and Sora seems okay with the interior design… Well, she sees Yaito to be more extravagant in the décor and Enzan… well is similar to the mansion she is seeing.

Mokuba shows her the place before they head to the kitchen for dinner, then the phone rings and he picks his cellphone out of his pocket. "Hello Nii-san." he answered. "You won't… I see, don't worry I got a friend with me… can she stay for the night? … Yay! Thanks Nii-san!" he said cheerily as he hang up the phone. "You're lucky, Hikari-san, you can get to stay here for the night!"

'Wow… I'm starting to get why Meijin-san doesn't like formalities, I sound old with a san at the end of my surname.' the brunet thought as she suggest the boy to call her Sora-nee instead.

The boy nodded and then guide her to the game room, to play a few games to pass time.

**:::^*^:::**

The sun sets and Netto still haven't found his sister yet, not to mention, he doesn't have a place to stay for the night. Out of sympathy, Yugi offered his place for him as Tea can't bring any boys to her house, and Tristan has been sheltering Jou from his dad.

As the group dissipated and head back to their homes, Yugi walks to his with Netto behind him. The brunet sighs in disappointment as they reach the game shop.

"I hope she's doesn't land on too much trouble." Rockman whispered, as his brother nodded.

"Yeah… hopefully I have more luck tomorrow, along with our Link." he whispered back and his brother nodded in agreement, as they enter the game shop and thru the door towards the living room. Once Yugi told his grandfather about a friend staying for the night, he then guide the brunet to his room while the elder man made extras for the new guest.

Inside Yugi's room are full of puzzles, games and posters, something a game otaku would put up. Of course, Netto didn't mind it because he likes games too… only he doesn't have free time when he became a Maverick Hunter. He helped the small boy on getting the sleeping bag and a few pillows and sets it up.

Then… he notices something…

For one moment he looks… well, innocent. Then suddenly his eyes became sharper, along with three lightning-shaped bangs spiked up and the slight height gain. The brunet felt that this person is someone else, as if he got possessed by a spirit. 'Oh… wow… I think I should blame Sora on these thoughts… She's the more paranormal freak.' he thought.

And at the Kaiba Manor, a certain brunette sneezes as she sleeps.

Back to the current situation…

"Um… you okay?" Netto asked, pretending he didn't notice the change.

"Yeah, I'm fine." 'Yugi' said sternly as he sits on the bed with arms and legs cross. "Can I asked you something?"

'Oh boy…' Netto thought. "Yeah, fire it away." he said cheerily as possible and Rockman begins to sense the uneasiness of his brother thru their Link.

"Why did you came here to this city?" he asked.

'Oh crap… can he tell we don't belong in this world?' both brothers thought, as 'Yugi' stares at him for answers. "It's a family visit, why did you asked?" the young hunter answer, hoping he would buy it.

But with no luck, this person is able to detect his slight nervous tone. "Then where are your family?" he asked.

"Errr… I kinda lost the address, I really have a bad sense of direction." the brunet replied with a nervous laugh. But he didn't seem to take it and Rockman appears on Netto's shoulder. He too sensed something odd about him and with one look at each other, they both decide to break the ice. "Okay… who the heck are you?" he demanded, not liking the way he is asking for info… it's more like he's being interrogated.

"I see you can tell the difference." 'Yugi' said as he uncrosses himself. "My name is Yami, the spirit of this puzzle" as he shows the upside-down, golden pyramid on his neck.

"Spirit…?" the brunet asked. 'Oookay… I'm sure this is more on Sora's turf.'

"Who sent you here and what do you want with the God Cards?" he demanded, but he didn't expect the reaction of the new kid: he looks confused, more on baffled.

"Wha and what?" Netto asked, looking quite dumbfounded and scratching his head. "I don't get that."

"Me either." Rockman answered too.

"Wait… so you're not after the cards?" the pharaoh asked, looking at them both who both shakes their heads. Rockman then explain about their actual situation and their goal to find the two remaining Keys. "So… you guys came from another world and you need to find this Key to get back home with your sister?"

"Yup." Both Netto and Rockman said.

"Okay, but one question, I sense a soul in that device of yours." Yami stated, sensing they are telling the truth and then looks at the PET.

"You mean Rockman?" brunet asked.

"Yes, why does he have a soul?" he asked

"Well… it's because he's my older brother." Netto answered straightly, Yami and Yugi are surprise at this and looks at the blue navi.

"My human name is Hikari Rock Saito." the blue navi said. "As for my situation… well… when I was young I was diagnosed with a rare disease called HBD. In order to save me, our dad took my DNA and merged it into a navi project… and this is the result, a hybrid navi…"

"So you're once born as a human, but given a second chance as… data?" Yami asked, and he remembered the Noah incident with trapped them into the virtual reality and duels them for their freedom. Not a very pleasant experience, by the way.

"Yeah." the brunet answered.

"But there is a flaw in that project." the blue navi stated.

"A flaw?" Yami asked.

Rockman then explained about the Synchro, where humans and navis link together to heighten the battle capacity of the navi or the cross fusioners. Normally, anyone can achieve that but to create the Perfect or Full Synchro… the requirements must be twins or triplets. Reason is: The DNA must be similar with it's siblings. By far, Sora achieved the Full Synchro by Netto's aid (as in giving Rouge his DNA) and Rockman's cross fusion with her against Cache. But like the blue navi said, there is a flaw in the Synchro…

For when the navi takes damage, the NetOp will also feel the similar pain.

**:::^*^:::**

Next day…

Mokuba decided to give his new friend a tour on the company, along with delivering breakfast and lunch for his big brother.

Upon arriving at the company, Sora stared at the extremely tall building and reminded her of her boyfriend's company. 'Seriously!' she thought and follows the boy as she carries the lunch boxes. They ride on the elevator to the top and enters the office… which happens to be empty.

"Uh… I think he's still in the IT Department." the boy said, as he motions her to follow him again to the elevator. This time they head down a few floors and when the doors opens, they saw a very chaotic hall. The employees are running around with disks or papers in their arms, others are receiving calls and some are typing furiously on the keyboard. They seems to be battling against something in their computers.

"Whoa…" Sora said, as she and Mokuba seems to weave their way thru the crowds. "From the looks of this place, it's more like a war field."

"Errr… right, you see something happened and our network system is down." Mokuba said, as he avoids an incoming man and darts away from a cart.

"Wow…" Rouge said, as she appears out of her PET and hid behind the collar. "From the looks of it, they're losing the battle." as her partner agrees and dodges another incoming employee. "Should we lend them a hand?"

"Yeah… I think they're gonna need it." the brunette said, as the boy manage to reach the double doors containing the main computer and where his brother is. There she saw a tall brunet, somewhat exactly or near six feet and his eyes is glued to the computer screen with binary codes flying up. And above the big screen, is a loading bar which is going back and forth between 20 to 30 percent.

From the looks of it, the brunet seems to be at war with the computer, of sorts…

"Nii-san!" Mokuba shouts cheerfully and glomps on the brunet, who snaps out of his works and hugs his brother back.

"Hey Mokie." he greeted back, as his brother steps back and he motion her to come near him. Seeing this new girl somewhat made him feel… calm, less grouchy and less stressed, also he felt that they met before. There is something within his mind trying to surface but it couldn't get out.

"I bought you breakfast and lunch. Oh, Sora-nee this is my big brother, Seto. And nii-san, this is Hikari Sora-nee, she helped me out when I…" Mokuba trailed off on the last part, as Sora sets the lunch boxes on a table.

"Almost kidnapped and held up for ransom?" the brunette supplied, which made the boy flinch and elbows her but it missed.

"Yeah… that." Mokuba winces on that part. The brunet gave his brother a look and thanked her for helping him, which gave the staffs and Rebecca a look on him.

Kaiba Seto being nice to a unknown girl? What scandal is this?

As the data flies up, Sora caught something within the 0's and 1' which she quickly recognize. "Crap." she hissed.

"What is it?" Rouge asked in her lowest tone.

"I think I saw the basic code of a reploid data." she replied, she then asked Kaiba if she could help him in this network problem of his. The CEO seems surprised at this and asked if she has knowledge on computers, the brunette honestly answered that she has plenty. The blonde girl then test her on a certain virus, which amazingly she explained and dissected the codes of it and then deletes it.

'Seriously, she taken that topic when she was still in elementary!' Rouge thought but the blonde girl is not yet convince. 'Oh come on!' she gritted her teeth and almost yelled, when the CEO intervened and accepted Sora's offer of help.

"Alright… first things first, I need to make this." Sora muttered, as she sits on the chair where the Seto used to sit. She then typed rapidly which made the people stun and drop their mouths around her, while Seto and Rebecca masked their own surprise and watches her critically. It wasn't long for her to program a certain screen that could look into the system, which she mentally added in her mind that it is old. As she searches for something specific… "Okay… that's a Metool… Trojan horses…?" she muttered as she kept looking for the reploid data.

She types a few more till she saw a rather round, fat green navi with a huge ring on the back. "EH? Botos?" she yelped, causing the said former rebellion cadre to turn and sees her which nearly loose his data.

"How the hell can you see me?" he exclaimed.

Now all of the employees crowded around her, and they saw the said thing that was giving them quite a workload. Add to the fact, they forgotten that they also crowded on their boss and Rebecca… which they quickly run back to their positions, when Seto clears his throat.

'Great… of all the mavericks…' Sora swore mentally. "I don't know why you're back, but get out of this system!"

"Who are you?" the fat renegade asked mockingly. "And is this terminal yours?"

"No, it's his." she bluntly replied and points at Seto.

"Why the heck is that navi in there?" the tall brunet demanded as he glares at the thing that wreck his network system and the blonde looks at it quizzically. Strangely, his eye sparks recognition on the cybernetic being before shoving it to the back of his head.

"A Renegade, a net navi which is built from leftover data of a decease reploid." Sora stated, frankly forgetting the fact that the person who asked her have no idea what are those about. However, Rouge managed to catch what the CEO said…

'That navi…' she thought. 'How can he identify nor even recognizes my kind when we don't exist in this world?'

The brunette takes out her PET and looks around. "Do you have any plug-in ports? Infra-red or something?"

Seto pointed at one of the computers, she leaps out of her seat and dash towards it. She wished Rouge luck and plugs her in, as the navi plans to tell her about Seto after this.

**:::^*^:::**

"Heya fatty!" Rouge greeted, once she is successfully transported into the network and manage to find the fat navi in no time. "You really have no life or hobby, do ya?"

"Y-you?" Botos nearly deleted himself upon seeing Rouge can enter the network. "How?"

"Are you working with Sigma?" she asked and the fat navi just nodded. "He didn't told you that I'm actually a navi, she's my NetOp and our ability to Cross Fuse?" the fat navi just shakes his head, which later he received a charged shot on the face.

"I bet Sigma dislike him." Sora stated out in amusement, as her partner agreed before she jumps out of the Bits' attacks. "Oh that's the same thing you…" But before the brunet could even finish, hundreds of Bits surrounding her partner. "… Er… never mind." she said sheepishly, as the dark blue navi glares at her before jumping away from being hit.

"Beast out mode! Falzer! Slot-in!" as she inserts the said chip and Rouge's looks changed into a red, bird-based armor with wings on her back. "Double Long Swords! Slot in!" the navi's arms transforms into a pair of long swords and she dives into the fray.

"Are you sure that she won't harm important data?" Seto asked, off screen.

"Hey, no worries, Rouge is quite a careful navi." the brunette stated reassuringly as her partner slices fours Bits in half, which she batted it toward other Bits.

Rouge slices thru all the Bits but Botos keep making new ones. Then all of the sudden, the Bits group together and sings an awful song, which even the humans are affected outside. To counter this, she sent Big Wave and manages to drowns a some of them. Sora then inserts a Prism chip whis summons a small gem in Rouge's hand. The dark blue navi then tosses it up and her partner inserts a Mega Cannon chip. She shoots at the said gem and the gem reflected it, which causes to spread the shot throughout and deletes even more of the Bits. What are left are soon destroyed by Falzer's default weapon.

"Okay…" Rouge stated, looking around and slumps annoying. "Oh great… for a fat guy, he disappears again-"

But her speech is cut short when she saw the surrounding of the building shakes and the computers begins to spark

"Plug-out." Sora commands, and she plugs her partner out and runs outside.

**:::^*^:::**

Yugi and the gang continues to help Netto on finding his sister, but he and Yami seems to be thinking about the talk last night.

The fact that they belong in another dimension, in fact Netto came from a dimension of robots while their sister and Rockman came from a world where the network are extremely advance. Rockman was once a human and so does Netto who happens to be a reploid, a robot that could think and decide freely for itself.

Not to mention, a new generation due to his transforming abilities.

Right now, the two couldn't think what his sister is like…

"Man… where did the last saw your sister?" Honda asked.

"Well… I think I last saw her-" but the brunet is cut off, when all of the sudden… a ever familiar round thing appears on the road.

A Metool.

"Awww… that is such a cute… thing?" Anzu said when she notices it and Jou's eyes suddenly sparks with recognition on the round thing.

"That thing is a Metool." Jou stated and this causes Netto and Rockman to look at the blonde with surprise.

Then…

A loud explosion and a very large pair of eyes looks at them.

"Oh… that is bad." Netto stated.

**:::^*^:::**

"This is really, really bad." Sora said, as she saw viruses materializing, absorbing electricity to maintain themselves and attacking the city.

"Correction, it's worse." Rouge stated, as the virus population increases.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked, her eyes are shock to see odd creatures that are new too her. She know that these… monsters do not exist or have been released in Duel Monsters. Heck she does not know if these monsters are created by Pegasus.

"What's with all to hocus-pocus again?" Seto said in a bitter tone, he knew Shadow Magic and he deny of it's existence. "Is this your doing?" he demanded the brunette.

"Hocus-pocus? Seto, this is computer data materializing into reality." Sora corrected him, as she scans the area. "Well, most of them are computer viruses."

"What?" the blonde asked in shock and looks at her and back at the creatures.

The brunette then runs to the stairs and Mokuba asked where she's going. He gets a surprise when a odd board materialize beside her, as she dashes to the roof tops. Wanting to know what's going on, the three followed her to the rooftops.

Upon reaching the top, they are surprise once more on seeing Sora, wielding a strange looking gun with the board tuck under her other arm. "Of all places-?" she swear, as she turns and fires at a incoming DarkMech. "WHOA!" she yelped and avoided the sword from a virus. "A Nightmare?"

"Sora, we need to Cross Fuse now." Rouge said as she watches her partner's back.

"Right…" Sora muttered and sent the last charge shot to a small group of Champy. She then place her gun back on her holster and takes out her PET and Synchro Chip. "Synchro Chip! Slot-in!" she stated.

"Cross Fusion!" both Sora and Rouge declared as the device shines white and wraps around the brunette.

"What?" the blonde girl yelped.

"Sora-nee!" Mokuba shouts in alert, as Seto covers his eyes with his arm and tries to see what's going on.

When the light dies, they soon saw Sora in the image of her hologram friend.

Wasting no time, she activates her jet boosters, summoning her sword and flies off to delete most of the virus around the building. Seto, Mokuba and Rebecca could only watch by the edge of the rail, as the strange brunette girl fights against the digital creatures.

"Oh this is crap." She uttered, she soon saw five Life Viruses in the city. Four of them appears to be in their normal form but in different colors, while the fifth is a Life Virus R in black. "… Uh… I think I got a namby-pamby."

"Sora, don't be a hospital rat." Rouge reprimand her partner.

"But with those in real life, I'm going to get knock galley west!" CF Rouge complained.

"As much you want to shin out and I have no idea why we're talking in cowboy slang. But I sense a energy spike and I think it's your promiscuous brother." the dark blue navi stated.

"Hey- you found Netto and Rock-nii? Where?" CF Rouge asked as she shoots down a Puffy that is getting too close to the three on the roof. Once her partner tells the general direction and quickly flies off to where her brother is.

However, wanting to know what's going on… Seto and Mokuba quickly follows her, leaving Rebecca in charge of the IT Department.

**:::^*^:::**

He didn't expect to have share their secrets to Yugi and Yami or Jou to identify the Metool.

So he definitely didn't expect for a huge Kabutank… which is later absorb or eaten by a extremely huge and black Life Virus.

"Not the Life Virus R!" Rockman shouts in shock and surprise on seeing the said beast which Rouge and Zero EXE defeated a long time ago.

"What the heck is that?" Honda shouts in fear, as the LVR turns it's glowing eyes at them.

"Don't just stand there! Run!" Netto shouts and turn tail away from the dangerous huge virus. The gang give one look on the huge virus, which suddenly more viruses appears out of nowhere and they quickly tailed after the brunet. Yami quickly takes over and turns to fight them, but he could not sense any magic on them.

"What kind of creatures are these?" Yami asked as he avoid from being hit by a scarecrow, shooting lighting at him. But he got himself surrounded by three beast viruses and they are going to pounce on him when….

One shatters like glass and the other is pushed away.

"Yami!" the pharaoh turns to see Netto in front of him, wielding two strange guns that fires light towards the virus. "Don't stand there like a foot stool and run!" the brunet shouts, with that it click in the boy's mind and drags his feet towards the gang.

Meanwhile, Netto, not in his armor, is doing flips and shooting at the same time to all the surrounding viruses before he follows them. But a group of Spikey blocks is way and blows fire at him. To protect himself, he quickly summons his armor and slides under the fire. He quickly shoots all the Spikey, and then checks his bullet limit…

'So far… I only wasted 50 bullets on the viruses…' he thought, as he dash quickly to find them and they didn't went too far.

"Yikes!" Honda yelped as he avoids a flaming boxing glove and runs away.

"Bad dog! Bad dog!" Jou screamed as he is being chased by a Red Spikey. Yami tries to save Anzu from the Yoyo but the purple blowfish didn't let him, and every time it gets hit more needles are shot out.

Wasting no time, he first shoots out the Yoyo, followed by dashing toward the Puffy and quickly deleting it on close range. He then quickly shoots down the Red Spikey, not without getting serious burns. And then slides quite close to the Champy and shot it at close range. As he rechecks his bullets… "Hey, are you guys okay?" Rockman asked.

"Dude… that was incredible!" Jou exclaimed and pulls the brunet in a head lock, but winces when he collides himself with the helmet. "OW! I think I hit myself with your helmet! Ouch… where did that come from?"

"Uh… from the network?" Axl states sheepishly, technically the armor is part of his system and only Yami and Yugi knows what's going on. Suddenly the ground shakes and they turn to see four Life Viruses in different color. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

But one of the huge viruses roars and reaches out to grab them. But it retracts it's hand once it felt pain and turns to see Axl with a shotgun. He shouted them to run and they didn't hear him clearly with gunshots, but they didn't need a warning for their body to get on a head start. As they run behind Axl, the young hunters quickly shifts back to his original guns and does a widespread shots to distracts the LV.

Unfortunately, the LVR's claws came out of nowhere and grabs him.

"Ugh! Let me GO!" Axl growled and with his free left hand, he placed his gun on the wrist and shoots on it at point blank range. The huge virus roars in combination of range and pain, it throws the brunet into the air, screaming.

"NETTO!" Yami shouts, as the gang stops running and panics on their friend being thrown in the air.

When…

"Axl!" CF Rouge shouts and manage to grab him. They spins in the air before CF Rouge and Axl activates their jet boosters to balance themselves.

"Sora-nee!" the hunter shouts as they hug each other. "Oh my god, I finally found you!"

"Sora-chan!" Rockman shouts as he pops out his PET and hugs his sister on the face.

"Hey to you too, Rock-nii." she smiled at her elder brother. "So… anything happened without me?"

"Well, I got some new friends, one in particular might interest you and knows our secrets, looking for you, the viruses attacked and…" Axl listed and then thinks… "I think that's all."

They then look down and sees the Life Viruses thrashing the buildings and roads. The brunet also sees his new friends running away from the huge monsters, and avoids getting hit by stray cements or glass. The siblings looks at one another and nodded, then dives towards the LVs and LVR.

First, they grab their attention by shooting them annoyingly at the head. Then Axl rounded them up in the middle while CF Rouge sneakily flies around them with her chain. The huge viruses did not notice that till she change into her Hawk Armor and lifts them up into the sky. It wasn't easy to lift at what it seems to be a ton of 5 Life Viruses, thankfully Axl transforms into Ninetails and attacks at the bottom to push them into the sky. Once she manages to throw the beast into the sky, she transforms in her Nora Armor and use Limit Break on the LVs and LVR..

The group below watches as a huge attack disintegrates the 5 monsters before 5 huge DELETE sigh appears.

Panting, the sibling eyed the virus infested city when suddenly… they all retreat back in the net.

**:::^*^:::**

"Can anyone explain what's going on?" Honda asked loudly, as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet lands in a open space.

"Great…" Jou deadpanned. "What is he doing here?"

"Oh… so he followed me." CF Rouge muttered, as she and her brother lands in between them and defuse/turns the armor off.

"Great… the nerd patrol…" Seto commented in a bored tone, as he and his brother jumps out of the jet plane and heads towards the brunette. "Every time something happens, you geeks are always there."

"Isn't he a computer geek himself?" Rouge whispered to her partner.

"A rich geek, Rouge." Sora corrected her, as the CEO stops in front of her.

"I appreciate the help you given but I would not risk my entire company on some stupid magic tricks." Seto scolded her, as she made a face about it.

"HOLD UP!" Sora stated with her arm and hand extended right in front of the CEO. Then points at the destroyed buildings and street. "First , did that trail of destruction look like a magic trick to you? Because I don't think so."

"So please, they are just construction machines." he answered back in a obvious tone.

"Construction machines that are nearly 40 storey high?" she asked with one of her brow arched and looking at him.

"Balloons." the brunet pointed out and waving his hand to get his point.

'_Whoa… he's kinda like Enzan… in some ways."_ Netto said.

"_A very arrogant one."_ Rockman replied.

"_Holy butter sticks! The Link is working again!" _Netto shouted happily, as his two elder siblings smiled a bit.

"Really?" Sora stated in a deadpanned tone. "Well, I guess all we need is a needle and- THEY ARE REAL!"

The outburst cause the CEO, out of character, to jump away from her and suddenly… apologizes at her with a bow. Now this made Mokuba surprise because he knew that his brother rarely (almost to nil) apologizes with respect, especially to a stranger.

Snapping back and realizing what he's doing, he slightly froze at the fact that he, the proud CEO of KaibaCorp and the Ice King himself, just apologized to a strange girl.

With that, he didn't bother facing her and turns away, marching right back to his jet. "Don't ever come back, understand!" he snaps at her and climbs in his cockpit with his brother behind him. Then the jet came to life, slowly began hovering up into the air and once it got into the proper altitude, he flies back to his company.

"That's something… I wonder if he and Enzan meet?" Netto asked his sister.

"Knock it off, Netto-kun." Sora scolded her brother lightly. "Besides, he's not all bad yet… did some pole got shoved up his ass or something?"

"Netto!" they turned to see Yugi and the gang approaching them. With a smile, the brunet then introduces them to his sister and then he introduces her to them which…

"That's your sister?" Yugi asked, both him and the pharaoh seems to be shock to see her completely human.

"What? You expect me to be a cybertronic robot? Puh-lease…" Sora stated, as she crosses her arms with a smile and Rouge giggled at this.

"Well, hello there, I'm Rouge and I'm her Net Navi." Rouge introduces herself to them. "And I'm the one who always try to keep my partner in trouble, yet trouble finds her."

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad." the brunette defended.

"Sigma on the loose and Meiru is taken to the dark side." the dark blue navi stated.

"… Except that…" She whined and slumps her shoulders.

"While you guys do the reunion, can anyone explained what's going on?" Jou demanded, and the triplets looks at one another before looking back at them.

For them it's going to be a long day.

* * *

Silver: Done! This was supposed to be updated yesterday but a FLYING-FRIGGIN-COCKROACH JUST FLEW IN FRONT OF ME WHILE TYPING! ARGH! Anyway…moving on, frankly the part where the fight scenes are did not work with me. I did planned for 5 Life Viruses but not in this chapter, D'oh.

1. There's no wi-fi... also I don't think there's a satellite exist for PET in that world.

* * *

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Who are you?" Seto demanded seeing a weird stranger in his office.

The stranger merely turns around and smiled at him, then placed a folder on his table before vanishing out of sight. Running to the spot where the stranger vanished, he looks around before he laid his eyes on the folder.

Out of curiosity, he picks up the file and reads it…

Then he suddenly slams the file down on his table, his eyes darkens with rage and spite as his body shakes a bit…

'This can't be… It's a lie… A damn prank!' he thought hotly as unknowingly tears leak out his eyes. 'It can't be happening…!'

In the file is… A DNA test results.

* * *

Silver: My reasons for the change… like I said, Sonic died in my mind… again. Press the button down there, okay? Ja ne!


	32. Duel Online, Eight Stars

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Rockman and Yugioh, if it does… the ending of this chapter would be possible.)

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Duel Online - Eight Stars**_

Silver: The update! And accidentally deleted the Rockman Beast Series from my D hardware! D'oh! Moving on… The Yugioh gang meets the triplets and Seto banned her from the mansion… now they need to explain… and what after…

* * *

**Duel Online - Eight Stars**

"So… let me get this straight." Jou stated. "You guys came from another world, specifically two worlds, and ya all came here to find a Key?"

"Yup, that's the low down." Sora replied cheerfully.

After reuniting with her brothers and got herself expelled from the Kaiba's, she joins her brother's friends to the game shop. There she further explained about their identity, their advance in technology and the mission of finding the Key.

"Yeah… but we're not the only ones who's looking for it." Rockman stated.

"Captain Cueball, or also known as Sigma, is also looking for it." Netto noted with a deadpanned tone. "He sends viruses and a renegade leader or two to look for it, whether he do it in large mass chaos or send spies."

"How?" Anzu asked.

"By sending renegades into computers, practically hidden within the data and they are not detected unless we scan it." the brunette stated.

"Or by sending Meiru to watch on us." her younger brother added.

"That's- wait, what?" she said in surprise and looks at him. "Are you serious?"

"Well…" Netto stated and looks at his navi brother before confirming that indeed they also send Meiru. "We once spotted her following me in the mall, back in the tourney. But once you guys came into view, she just… Poof! Disappeared."

Now knowing that they also send Meiru in shadowy jobs, they gave the gang a description of what their old friend looks like. Sora also made a mental note to stick with her younger brother, just in case Meiru think of whisking him away.

"So… do you guys have any clue on what the Key looks like? Or it's location?" Yugi asked.

"Well, it is a tear drop-shaped gem, about a size of a baby and it has ring barriers that prevents any one from getting it." the brunette stated remembering what the gem looks like back in the tourney.

"Well… except for that fact that you guys can enter it." Rouge quipped.

"Huh?" the triplets wondered and Rouge reminded them about the incident between them against Meiru and the other two renegades. "Oh yeah… we did manage to get in." Rockman whispered. Sora crosses her arms and mumbled that maybe Liberius is behind that because he assigned them on finding it. As they discuss further of their problem, their navis senses trouble and on cue…

"This is a Flash Report, there is now a robbery on a jewelry shop and… this just in, the robbers went into a rampage and began destroying the shops. Our reporter, Shion Riku is there to report." the news anchor stated and the scene is switch to a female reporter hiding behind the debris as a trio of renegade rampages and destroying the shops.

"Oh my- Yagami-san, these robbers are causing much destruction in- AH!" the female reporter screamed as a car nearly hits her and her crew from the air. And the camera shifts to the renegades for the triplets to see…

And recognizes them. "That's Violen and Agile!" Rockman said in alert.

"But who's the old guy?" Rouge asked.

"That's Serges!" Netto said, remembering the reploid scientist that held Zero's body pieces as hostages during the second Sigma War. Once he told his sister about him, they quickly left the shop, firmly states the gang to stay put and dashes towards the danger.

**:::^*^:::**

In the District, the police and army are trying to contain the chaos and prevent anyone from entering the premises. But it didn't work when Violen smashed a tank and throws the police cars everywhere, which destroyed some buildings.

"Violen! Must you make a mess?" Serges scolded the huge renegade, as he scans the area for the Key.

"Serges, are you sure that the Key is here?" Agile asked, as he scans the area.

"It's a gem." The renegade scientist reminded his reborn friend. "So it is very clear that it must be in a-"

He is cut off when Violen is sent flying at them and they all crash landed on the destroyed tank. They groan a bit as two figures landed on the ground with ease, and one of them shoots the tank causing it to explode. The two then shielded themselves from being hit by stray metals and looks up to see the flaming tank.

"Whoo… that was really an effective ambush, Axl-kun." CF Rouge stated as she looks at the inferno. "You think that will delete them?"

"No idea, but it was a good suggestion of clearing the other cars away from the tank." Axl quipped, as he placed this hands and guns behind his head.

"But… why would they rob a jewelry shop?" Rockman asked, appearing on Axl's shoulder.

"Um… duh?" CF Rouge stated and looks at her older brother. "The Key is a gem, a huge one that is, by logic they try to rob a jewelry shop."

"Still it's kinda…" Rockman started, but…

"Sora, watch it!" Rouge shouts in alert as a laser shot out of the burning tank and both siblings manages to avoid it… well, Axl got a few side burns on his armor and his sister has a few too.

But they never made a comment as Violen comes charging out of the flame, and tries to ram on them… only to be avoided and hit's the wall behind them. Both hunter and savoir looks in the hole for a moment before the brunet yelped and avoids the saber strikes from Agile.

"Axl!" CF Rouge shouts in alert but before she could even help him, round things appeared out of nowhere and surrounds her. At first she is surprised on seeing the round, floating metals around her. But remembering her younger brother, she rushes to his side…

… Till her shoulder hits one of the balls and exploded.

She screams as the force sent her skidding to the left and the balls followed after her. "Sora! Don't move! Those balls are mines!" Axl shouts, as he tries to shoot down the speedy renegade but mostly missing or just grazing it's frame. "Damn it." he swore.

CF Rouge groaned as she stands up and now knowing that the balls are mines, she have to be extra careful. Looking around she tries to looks for a way to avoid touching the balls, when Violen burst out and she warns her brother. But the warning came too late as the huge renegade grabs the young hunter. As he runs, he slam him down on the ground, dragging and breaking the floor before he is thrown into a building.

"Netto!" CF Rouge shouts in panic but could not move due to the fact that the balls are closing in. She hisses in anger as the old renegade nearby, just laughed at her helpless situation, when…

"_Sora, use the Lancaster Armor!"_ her brother shouts at her.

"_What?"_ She replied and is a bit surprise on that one. _"The Lancaster Armor?"_

Seeing the glow in the building he crashed into, she gets the message and transforms into her Lancaster Armor. She quickly uses Rosenkruez to shield herself as something huge jumps out of the building her brother crashed in.

"TIDAL WAVE!" Axl-Silver Horn shouts and stomps on the ground, suddenly a huge wave of water came out of the ground. The mines exploded when the wave comes in contact with them, causing the three renegades to be thrown into a building. Thankfully, the Rosenkruez manage to withstand the force of the explosion. CF Rouge watches as Axl transformed back, dashes in front of Violen and rapidly shoots on him.

With that, one down, two to go.

"Wow… you're really improving, Axl." CF Rouge noted with a smirk as she transforms back into her default armor. "I bet you can beat X and Zero with no sweat."

"Really?" Axl said with excitement that he could be on par with his comrade. But that distracts him from seeing Agile is rushing to him with both sabers on. When Rockman warned him about it, he manages to avoid the sabers but ends up getting hit by a fury of kicks. The brunet is then sent skidding on the ground, wincing in pain.

'I think spoke too soon.' she thought as she summons a pair of Swords and flies toward the renegade. Their Swords/sabers clashed at one another and the brunet looks up with his left arm injured.

"How bout a spin?" she asked the renegade mockingly. She then pushes Agile back, charges to the renegade and mimics her boyfriend's technique. She spins rapidly in the air, creating a twister causing to suck in Agile and in it she release a fury of slashes. Unable to defend himself, all he can do is retreat and logs out.

"Damn…" she muttered as she stops.

"Did you get him?" Axl asked, as he runs to her side and she shakes her head.

"He managed to log out." she stated and her brother made a face on it.

Then they yelped when something explodes by their side and falls to the ground. CF Rouge and Axl looks up to see Serges laughing maniacally at them, as the round bombs surrounds and separates them.

"Ho, ho, ho! This is every intriguing!" Serges states loudly. "This is the first time I've seen such unique specimens."

"Specimens?" Axl asked.

"Us?" Rockman even pointed further.

"Indeed, I have never seen such a special relationship between a human, a navi and a reploid. So unique, that you are connected by blood." the renegade scientist stated. "I need samples." as he waves his arms and the bombs floats closer to them, which made them panic. "But it will be a hassle to capture you, so I'll just take your scattered DNA instead."

"Teme!" Axl growled in anger and tries to figure a way out as the old renegade merely laughs at their situation.

Then…

Serges' body split in two and a cloaked stranger appears, with a Sword on one of it's arm.

"No way… who the… hell are you?" Serges said in shock.

But the stranger just look at him before it raises the Sword and slice off it's head. Fortunately, the bombs disappears along and the two are able to breathe in relief, as they collapse on the ground. Looking at the stranger, CF Rouge recognizes her.

"You!" she said in surprise.

"In an island where was a kingdom was built for summons, there you will find the signs of the heart. Find the Core for the Key." the stranger stated calmly, now they can tell it's a woman. "And lead a child, so he can lead the other's to their true heritage. Make sure you protect the child."

After that, she disappears from sight.

**:::^*^:::**

Managing to avoid the press, Sora and Netto heads back to the Game Shop where their new friends are worried for them. They are thankful that the siblings are okay and Honda lends the brunette a tool box to fix her brother's arm.

As she fixes her brother, she told the gang about their mission and their only clue.

"Well, I think our mission is to find a thing called the Core." Axl stated.

"Core?" Honda asked. "I thought you guys are looking for the Key?"

"Yeah, but from what we heard from that lady: Find the Core for the Key." She recited what the mysterious lady said.

"So you're mission to find this Core." Yami said.

"That and we also must find a child." she added.

"A child?" the former pharaoh asked.

"The lady told us that a child is very important, and she did not told us why." Rockman said with a shrug.

"Well, she did told me this in my head: This world is in danger… Guide the children to find the heart of the world and return it to it's proper place…Then… Lead them to back to their true heritage." his sister recites the words that the lady told her before. "That is what she told me but…"

"But?" Anzu asked, as Sora places back the cover.

"What she told me is different from before… 'Guide the children to find the heart', it means that we'll be bringing them along as we find this Core and is returned to it's proper place. "Lead them back to their true heritage", it means that we'll be also looking for their origin… But…" Sora pointed out.

"But?"

"Now she tells us to just find a child?" the brunette asked bluntly.

"Are you sure that we need to find kids? As in plural?" Netto asked, she nodded and he groans as the pharaoh thinks of what the lady said. "Great… babysitting job."

"Maybe…" Yami started and the siblings looks at him. "… Maybe, you should find that child first before looking for the other children."

"Well, that is one of my guesses." Sora stated with a shrug, as she throws the rag behind her and Netto tests his arm. "It's a start, though."

Once everything is sorted out, the only thing to do is to look for the said child. But before they can even discuss their searching method, they hear a loud bam and a twinkling ring of a bell. The gang turns to see a familiar blonde girl, except Netto doesn't know her, leaning on the door and is catching her breath.

"Rebecca?" Both Yami and Sora asked at the same time, and looks at each other. "You know her?" both asked in unison again.

"I'm going to hate that- You!" Rebecca exclaimed upon seeing the brunette.

"Er… Hi?" Sora said sheepishly as she and Rouge waved awkwardly at her.

**:::^**_*_**^:::**

After the incident yesterday, the young CEO forces himself to forget what happen between him and the girl. But for somewhat reason, it refuses to do as it told and that memory remained in the back of his mind.

Which causes the sour mood today and many of his workers steer clear of being seen and fired on the spot.

As he is reading the statistics of Duel Disk sold and opens the door, he takes a glimpse of a person beside his table. Snapping his head up for a better view, the person is wearing a long coat and the face is covered with the hood. He couldn't tell whether the person is a male or a female.

"Who are you?" Seto demanded seeing a weird stranger in his office.

The stranger merely turns around and smiled at him, then placed a folder on his table before vanishing out of sight. Running to the spot where the stranger vanished, he looks around before he laid his eyes on the folder.

Out of curiosity, he picks up the file and reads it…

Then he suddenly slams the file down on his table, his eyes darkens with rage and spite as his body shakes a bit…

'This can't be… It's a lie… A damn prank!' he thought hotly as unknowingly tears leak out his eyes. 'It can't be happening…!'

In the file is… A DNA test results.

**:::^*^:::**

Rebecca is frankly analyzing their story and the triplets hoped that she believes it.

"Okay, let me get this straight…" Rebecca stated, as she pinch the bridge of her nose. "You, including the navis, belonged in another world." then looks at the young brunet. "You're Sora's younger brother, a half-reploid and a half-human and a Maverick Hunter." then looks at the sister "You, on the other hand, is a Net Savior and currently the Cyber Heroine of your home world." then looks at the navis. "Rockman here is your older brother and Rouge is the very last creation of your grandfather?"

"Um…" the triplets and Rouge uttered, and looks at each other. "… Yes." they all answer with a firm tone.

And the blonde sighs, if she is like any logical person, she would scoff that off. But having a grandfather, who is a occult archeologist, and friends who believe that a pharaoh resides in one of them…

"I… I'll accept that." She stated and the siblings smiled. "Only because of the advance computer and technology you have… So what now?"

The Hikari triplets then explained their situation at her and she seems to absorbed it just fine. She then gives the first clue and she is able to figure it out…

**:::^*^:::**

Once they figure out the first clue, it led them on different places. Since Sora and her brother came from another world, it caused a small problem about passports. It was soon solved by Netto's Sirius, which can fly, but he's been trying to save the fuel since the world doesn't have what the vehicle required. So the siblings limited their traveling by hitchhiking once they land on the country, and earn a bit of money in contests for supplies. There are times they bought one of their friends with them… and there are times that they were attacked by the Renegades and viruses.

After 3 clues, they got the 4th and they are able to find the next location with the gangs' help.

"Okay… so the next clues is…" Sora murmurs and looks at the island below. "Duelist Kingdom."

She and her brothers are in the helicopter, which Rebecca rented for them, looking at the island below which is lush of trees and a castle on it. It wouldn't be a problem since it's empty, aside from the animals in it.

"Is she sure that teh next info for teh Core is here?" Jou asked.

Apparently, the gang wanted to come along… so… Yugi(and Yami), Jou and Honda went with them, while Anzu and Rebecca remained behind to alert the triplets of trouble in case. Once they land, the sibling made a quick scan around the area and thankfully there are no viruses.

They then made their way to the castle, hoping to find their clue in there.

**:::^*^:::**

"Don't you even dare." a cloaked lady stated calmly with anger, as she points her sword at the back of another lady, who is helping Sigma.

"Are you his ally?" the renegade lady asked, who was watching Sora, her brothers and their new friends enter the castle in the woods.

"Who knows…" the cloaked lady replied. "But you… I doubt you're even on Sigma's side… Fatin."

"Oh, so you know me?" she replied.

"A passerby gave me a warning." the cloaked lady noted with a shrug and then with a stern voice. "Now leave."

"… All right." Fatin replied, then turns and licks at the blade. "But don't expect me not to play with your heroes. Bye- bye."

She then teleported away as the cloak lady waves her Sword to the side with disgust, before making it disappear. She then looks at the castle and prays for their safety.

**:::^*^:::**

The gang have once been in the castle, so they pretty much sure know the place…

The only thing is… that there are some parts that they haven't explored on.

So pretty much having a huge axe nearly beheading all of them, explains it.

"Okay… that booby trap wasn't there when we first came into tis' hall." Jou stated out of fright, and looks at the axe behind them as they continue.

"Maybe there is something in this hall." Yugi said, who is also equally freak out on the trap.

The brunette Net Savior looks at the walls, while the New Gen scans it for any mechanism. It turns out that one part of the wall has a lot of gears behind it, and Netto is able to point where the hidden button is. Sora reach in behind the knight's armor but…

"EEEIIIIII!" she shrieked when a pair of cockroaches crawls on her arm and frails out of disgust. Her brother seeing it also freaked out, activates his armor and transforms into a bat which he uses to hang upside-down the ceiling.

The three boys just watched the amusing chain of scenes where Sora runs away from the flying bugs, before pulling out her gun. She shoots a charged shot on the pest, which got incinerated and made a hole on the said wall they're suppose to open. Their mouths fell open in incredible shock as she breathes in relief and Axl returns to his form.

"Sora! You don't have to pull the gun out every time!" Rockman scolded his sister as Axl stares sternly along with him.

"It's the icky, crawly thing!" She protested.

As the brothers lecture her, Rouge hologram appears on the other boys' side and laughs sheepishly at this. "Eh… I'm glad I'm not the one who's telling her off now." she quipped.

"Is… she always like that?" Yami asked, having switched with Yugi who is freaked out by the traps and the recent action.

"Only when she gets freak out." she answer back, and then flies back to her NetOp as they begin to enter the secret passage way.

Only to step back when the navis senses security lasers.

"Seriously, is this mission impossible?" Jou asked out of irritation as the Net Savior and Maverick Hunter merely plugs in their navis to deactivate the security

**:::^*^:::**

If it's one thing they learn thru this whole ordeal is…

Follow the leader.

"ARGH!" Honda yelped as he stepped on a trap and is nearly killed when a bunch of arrows came out of the wall. Thankfully, Axl is in his armor and is able to block them off, although he missed one and nearly hit's the said brunet's side.

"May I remind you again… that you have to step where she steps!" The female navi sternly reminds them as her partner continues to scan the area for any triggers or switch.

There are some parts of the castle still maintains the traditional traps, where the mechanism is pretty much ancient. So by mimicking what the siblings watched in a certain movie, step where the leader step. Once they got clear from the arrow-shooting-wall, they follow her thru the hall which seems safe. Then at the end of it is a stair case leading down and seeing it is safe, they climb down…

That is until the steps disappears and they slide down to the bottom in a heap.

"Okay, what the heck is this? Yaito's mansion?" Axl asked in annoyance, as his siblings and Rouge looks at him and the other boys groan in pain.

Getting up, the New Gen opted to go first and dashes down the hall… and later, they heard mechanism noises and yelps from him. An hour later, he came back with a few burns, scratches on his armor and dust on his face, as he picks out a dart out of his leg.

"Again, I love being a reploid." stated with a grin as his sister crosses her arms and looks at him. "Anyway, I cleared the way so we should-" but he is cut off when he hears a mechanism activates and felt the floor rumbles. "or not all of it."

They turn and waited to see what is was and it wasn't long for a huge boulder to appear, that made Jou and Honda hug out in fright. Suddenly, the boulder exploded and turns into dust, much to their surprise. The three then turns to see Sora have shot her Buster Pistol in full charge and Axl have a smoking bazooka which left the boys stun.

After making sure all of the traps are either disable or destroyed, they walk down further into the hidden hall.

**:::^*^:::**

Walking down the path, the cloaked female takes her time and looks at her surroundings.

Out of the blue, arms went around her waist and she merely smiled at the newcomer. "Hey, it's been long." she said with a happy tone.

"Same to you." the newcomer said with a male voice, as he turns her around and kiss her. "So… find them?" he asked. She nodded and after telling him about them, he laughs heartily. "Ironic." he merely stated.

"How about you? Find them?" she asked and he told her on what he found. "Poor dear…"

He smiled as he asked about their other members, she just told him that they are still currently trying to find them all. She sighs and looks up in the sky…

"No matter where I am, it always reminds me of you… my partner…" she muttered in her lowest voice as her lover gives her one more kiss and left to focus on their mission. "Only they…"

**:::^*^:::**

Reaching the end of the hall is a pair of large double doors, pretty much plain except for the only decoration on it. Which are three circles that are sticking together, forming a triangle.

"Well… there are no traps." Axl stated and looks at his sister. "It's safe."

"Good, because after this I'll definitely stay home after this." Honda commented as the hunter heads to the door.

"Hey! It's you who insisted to come with us!" Rouge shouted back that the brunet in process, as Axl grabs the handle bars, opens it and coughs wildly. "You okay?"

"Too… much dust- ARGH!" he screamed again as more cockroaches came out of the room and once again, he transform into a bat hanging on the ceiling. While his sister is left to shoot freely at the "icky, crawly things" and the boys…

Are left avoiding getting hit by her gun or stomping on the nasty bugs to stop her rampage.

An hour later…

"After this, I'll burn this castle to get rid of those icky, crawly things!" the brunette swore.

"And I'm the only one with a problem?" Rockman asked and his siblings glared at him. In respond, Sora made a hologram of a headless ghost from a same disk she used on Spider's hologram. And it freak him out but his scream manage to made nearly everyone deaf.

After a single round of freaking their elder brother out, they went into the dust-filled room and finds… Darkness, they couldn't see a thing till Axl's orbs on his armor gives a glow and Sora manage to brighten up the light in the PETs. There they find lot of covered paintings, which is also covered in thick layers of dust and cobwebs.

Allowing the boys to borrow Rockman's PET, they looks around the area for any thing that is related to the Core. As they look around, Sora and Rouge takes some looks on the painting, Axl scans the area for anything out of place and the boys manages to find a pair of torch and lights it up. They continue to search for any clues…

"Find anything?" Yami asked.

"No… the room is pretty much old and normal." Axl said as he stopped scanning the room and the boys shakes their head in disagreement. "Great…"

"Find anything?" Sora asked and the boys repeated their respond.

"What are we exactly looking for?" Jou asked, still wondering what they need to look and everyone stares back at him.

"Any clue that could point us on where to find the Core." Rockman said as the others began re-scanning the area. Once more, they look for the said clue and finds nothing. After a fifth time of looking…

"There's nothing at all!" Honda exclaimed, after scanning the paintings, the pillars and the structure around them, they still couldn't find it.

"Damn… then where is the next clue suppose to be?" she muttered and grips her hair in frustration.

As they try to think of where the exact clue is… Axl went off to find Jou and once he is found, the blonde is strangely staring on one of the paintings. "Hey, find anything?" he asked the blonde.

"Huh?" Jou uttered, like he's on a trance and is currently snapping out of it. He sheepishly answered no, covering up that he's been staring on that painting for so long. The young hunter nodded at that and asked if he like the painting. "No… Actually I only saw tha' almost all of teh arts have tis' strange circle."

Wondering what he meant, the blonde points at a part of a painting where the circle is. The circle happens to be a stone stage, with the same three-circle triangle on the middle. On the back of it are lines, and right on the outer ring are a bunch of lines and circles. To finish it off, the stone stage is surrounded by flowers. But from the painting, it's way too small and the reploid moves to another painting with a larger image of it. It wasn't long before Axl began scanning every painting with Jou tailing behind. On every painting he sees, he also sees the stone stage or similar to that.

"Could it be…?" Rockman whispered and his brother nodded in agreement. He then dashes back to the others and told them about the painting. Hearing about it, they quickly scan on all of the paintings and they did see the said stone circle.

"So the next clue is…" Yami said, after seeing another stone stage in another painting.

"Yeah…" Sora agreed. "We need to find this place."

**:::^*^:::**

The young raven boy peeks into the meeting room, seeing his brother so much more distracted and is easily set off than before. Every time a worker would fail on it's work, request for a leave or a simple signing of papers, the brunet CEO would explode for no reason at all. And that worries him extremely.

Unknown to him… the results of a stranger bought to Seto still haunts him.

**:::^*^:::**

After they returned from the Duelist Kingdom, everyone except for Honda made a beeline for the Game Shop. Honda head home for a much needed shower and rest for himself.

The Net Savior gave the picture, they took with their PETs, to Rebecca for her to find. And with that they call it a day.

"Whoo… that was something." Netto said, slumping on the sofa.

"Well… on the bright side, the renegades are not there." Rouge said.

"True." The triplets said in unison and they all sits up straight.

"What?" the female navi asked.

"It's strange, usually he would follow us and cause trouble." Netto stated, remembering how Sigma used to act back in the last 8 wars. "But now…"

"He's operating behind the shadows." Sora answered for him and he nodded. "Does he usually declare war every time he comes back?"

"Yup, but this is different… so we have to be on our guard." her brother answered, as Yugi and Jou came with a bunch of cards and booster packs with them. "Hey guys, what's with the cards?"

"Oh this is Duel Monster, it quite a popular game in this world." Yugi explained.

"Yeah, tis' game is the most easy way to fame! Why I'm the godfather of all duels!" Jou exclaimed smugly with a pose as his friend laughed sheepishly.

"Oh… well we don't have trading card games in our world, but we do have Net Battles instead." Netto said.

"Net Battles?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, Net Battles sends the navis on a one-on-one or a team-vs.-team fight." Sora explained. "As they fight, we assist them by advising them on what to do and by sending Battle Chips."

"Un, it's really thrilling because both Net Navis and NetOp must be on full alert and guard on the battle, if you don't the navis will get log out and lose." Rouge said.

"Wow, I wouldn't mind seeing that." Yugi said, hoping to see it.

"Well… we don't have the proper battle arena, and Kaiba is the only one who is pretty much close to our technology." Rockman said with a bit of disappointment.

"It might take a few adjustment, only if he allows us to tweak and modify one of his dueling arenas." Sora said with a shrug.

After talking about the different games which are popular in each, respective worlds, Yugi and Jou shows the two how to play duel monsters. And it did spike their interest on it.

**:::^*^:::**

"Okay… First I play this magic card and all of our magic cards returns to our hand." Netto said with much excitement as he played Grand Trunade, and he and Jou takes back their respective magic cards. "Then I put all of my monsters in attack position and I summon Hane-Hane also in attack position."

"Whoa… you are going to get toast." Yugi stated, as the brunet places the said monster in attack position. Currently, Sora lost to Yugi, well it's Yami, and right now… Netto: 7300 and Jou: 7200.

"_Indeed"_ Yami stated as he watches the two duel.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll get back at him on the next turn." Jou stated. "Besides, they're just starting to learn to play this."

The triplets constructed their own decks out of booster packs the two boys bought. It is also considered free since they have no idea of the currency the siblings uses in their world. So far, Sora is frankly good but, as usual, lost to Yami. Jou and Netto on the other hand, are running each others up the wall.

Till…

"Um… you better rethink that, because I play a magic card: United We Stand!" Netto declared and made the blonde jump in shock. "And I equip it on Dark Magician!" and the normal attack points of 2500 jumps to 5700.

"WHAT?" the blonde exclaimed his shock, for frankly he doesn't have any monsters in defense and his magic card: Sheep Token was returned to his hand.

All in all… Jou lost.

"YES!" Netto exclaimed in victory as his sister giggled at the blonde's expression and he sulks at the loss. The brunet chuckled that it was just a beginner's luck and he doubt that he could play this game, even when they are back home. Realizing that, the siblings can only have this chance to play this normally, Jou let it go. After that, Yugi told the two that Sora is pretty much average and Netto is frankly above average based on the overall duel.

"Meh, I do keep losing on Black Jack once." Sora said with shrug.

"You gambled?" Rockman shouts at his sister out of shock.

"Not really, more on bet on a candy-thing back then when I was in America." She said as she chuckles sheepishly.

"SORA!" Rockman shouts at her and she whistles, as the boys merely laughs at this.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day…

Rebecca couldn't find where the said stone stage is and the only option they have left is to call and ask Pegasus. After asking Otogi for contact information of the Illusion CEO, they quickly contact the said man thru video phone. It was answered by one of his men and once the security gives an okay, they have to wait as he transfer the call.

"Hello Ms. Hopkins, is there something of matter?" a man with a silver hair greeted and appears in the screen.

"Uh yes, you see we're looking for a stone stage which is needed for our research." Rebecca said and shows a picture that the Net Saviors taken. In respond, the man's eyes widens in surprise but manage to mask it.

"May I ask where you get that image." Pegasus asked, not liking the fact that someone found his secret chamber where most of his paintings are stored.

"One of our workers, manage to find a secret path in your castle… and I apologize for the intrusion but we've been looking for the said stage for the research for our client."

"Apology accepted, but if you don't mind if I request not to find that place." he stated.

The blonde girls looks at him in surprise and confusion, he then notices that she is looking at another direction. "Um… sir, this stage is very important and one of the crucial part of our research." she stated, now back looking at him. "If this place held any importance to you, we will look at it careful and make sure that there is no scratch."

"My answer is still no dear." he replied and looks back sternly at her. "And please tell your client not to find that place… ever."

"Is it because that place is where you vow your love to your beloved?" a new female voice asked and Rebecca moved from her chair and a brunette came to his view. "Is it?" she asked once more.

"I presumed that you are her client, but I never thought to be so young." Pegasus said.

"I'll say, thank you for that compliment." the brunette stated. "But back to the topic, my brothers and I have to find that stone stage as soon as possible."

"And why may I ask?" he said.

"There are bad people looking for it, they are looking for something precious and we need to get there first before they do." she said sternly as he looks a bit surprise before composing himself.

"… First, who are you?" he asked… more on demanded.

"Hikari Miriku Sora, sir." she replied.

"Well, Sora-girl." Pegasus stated, and she made a slight face on that. "I personally thank you for the warning, but I-"

"These bad people are not what you usually face everyday, and we know them more than you do." Sora cuts in. "Bribery will not work on them, normal weapons such as gun are totally out of the question, extra security is like asking to send your men on a death march and electronic defense… they can use it to turn it against you."

"What do you exactly mean?" Pegasus demanded and again, he is surprise by a dark blue girl appearing on his screen.

"What my NetOp means, is that what you are facing is an AI like me." she said. "Sorry, my name's is Rouge and I'm not an enemy, in fact, I'm on the side of the good."

"… Very convincing, Rouge." Sora deadpanned at her.

"Oi, oi, got any better ideas?" her partner asked and the brunette merely shrugs.

"Who exactly are you?" the Illusion CEO asked.

It took about a good thirty minutes of explaining about their situation, and Sora tries to persuade the president on seeing the stage. It took a lot of persuading and warnings about the renagades, till he agrees to let them see it… On a condition on he will be there to keep an eye on them, along with his own men.

"… Alright, I will agree on those conditions, just make sure that we can go near on it okay?" Sora stated.

"Certainly, and make sure there is not a scratch on it once you're finish." Pegasus replied.

"Roger and thank you." And with that, the screen when black

**:::^*^:::**

"That went well." Netto said, as his sister gets up from the chair.

"Yeah, hopefully, he won't back out." Sora said, as the blonde girl approaches her and asked how she manages to handle him like that. "When you have a friend with an army of maids and butlers and in a relationship with the VP… meh, you get the tricks." she said with a shrug and left Rebecca nearly staring at her

**:::^*^:::**

Soon, a limo appeared to pick Sora, her brothers and their friends, this time Yugi (Yami), Rebecca and Jou are coming along with them. Once they arrived on a terminal, they are transferred to a bus and heads north. It took two days to reach a town, then moved to a jeep for a terrain ride. Once the driver spotted the Illusion CEO, it stops beside him.

"I hope you've enjoy your trip here." Pegasus asked out of courtesy and the group climbs out of the jeep.

"Man, that ride was bumpy." Netto whined as he follows after sister and the gang. "Even when I'm mechanical, I can still feel that."

"Well… this is the place." Pegasus stated. The place turns out to be an old vacation house, where he and his beloved used to go, and it is surrounded by tall trees. "The stage is in a cave in the wood at the back of it."

Once they take the necessary equipment, he leads the group down the path towards the cave. Upon reaching the place, it turns out that the cave is rather short and at the end of it is the said stage and an hole on top of the roof.

"Wow, that looks beautiful in real life." Rebecca said in awe.

She is about to take out her equipment, when she is stop by one of the men. Pegasus reminded her not to touch the stage because he ONLY allowed Sora during their conversation on the video phone. With the stares are directed to the brunette, she awkwardly moved towards the stage and borrowed Netto's PET for extra help. Netto is nearby, not setting a foot on the stage and is extra alert on ambush from Sigma's lackeys

While his elder siblings searches for any clues on the stage, Netto takes a glance on the lines and circles and sees something odd about them. First is that they are group together in six and the amount of the two groups is less from the other four.

"Wait a sec." Netto said and takes out his notepad and a pen from his pocket. He began copying the circle and lines in a straight pattern. Looking at it, he calls his sister and showing what he wrote based on the circles and line. And it looks like this:

_**(010100110110101101101110**_

_**01100111)**_

_**(010100110110101101111001**_

_**0010011101110011)**_

_**(010101100110111101101001**_

_**0110001101100101)**_

_**(010001010111011001101111**_

_**0110101101100101)**_

_**(010101000110100001100101)**_

_**(010010001100110101100001**_

_**0111001101110100)**_

"This is…" Sora said.

"Binary codes." Rockman stated.

"Yeah." Netto said and scans the codes. "… Huh… this is …sound like it came from a fan fiction or a prank of sorts."

"Huh?" both his siblings and Rouge asked, as he shows the paper to them again. They read it and agreed to the brunet Hunter, it's a bit of incredulous to them. But considering the fact that: Different sets of rules in different places, they have to follow to find the Key and head home.

"This is the oddest task I'll ever do." Sora uttered as she once again steps on the stage.

"Found it!" Rouge stated, finding the said file and raising the volume of her PET. The brunette looks around her and breathes deeply, as her partner sets it up. "Okay, it's ready."

"What's going on?" Pegasus asked.

"Well… the lines and circles turns out to be binary codes and they are telling us to do this." Netto replied, as his sister accidentally steps on a switch and suddenly the outer ring glows. "Sora!" he shouts and runs after her, but couldn't reach her when a light shot out of the ring and forms a small dome. He hits right on it for not stopping on time and fell roughly on his butt.

"Netto!" The gang shouts in alert as the hunter winces in pain and gets up. "Are you okay?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah… I-" But he is cut off when he senses a electrical current and jumps back as a saber slash hit's the ground where he was. He looks up to see Agile, smirking smugly at him and a beam saber on one hand. "YOU!" he shouts.

"Well, it is nice seeing you again but orders are orders, I have to get the Core." the renegade stated and points the saber at the dome then stabs at it. In retaliation, the dome made the hit bounce and the force causes the renegade to let his saber go somewhere on the ground. "Whoa… That's one tough shield." then feels something and looks to the side where men in suits shooting at him. "Geez… Why don't you run away with your tails behind you like any humans?" as he prepares to attack on them.

"Why don't YOU run away to your master with your tail behind you!" The New Gen shouts, as he lunged toward the renegade in his armor and summons out his double scythe. Agile jumps back before he is hit and Axl goes after him.

"_Hey! What's going on?"_ Sora shouts thru their mind link.

"_Netto! Why is there a crack on… a wall?" _Rockman stated, having no idea of what to call the interior of the dome.

"_Ack! … Sorry but a unwanted visitor came back." _Axl stated as he parries on Agile's saber, which he manage to pick up while avoiding the scythe, before pushing him back. "_It's Agile."_ he grunted.

"_Seriously?" _Sora asked, she then felt an image of the said arrival of the renegade. _"Dang… can you fight him alone without Rock-nii's guidance?"_

"_Don't worry, I am a Hunter, you know." _He said confidently, before he is hit and landed on the ground, creating an Axl-shaped crater. _"Ugh… I'll be right back, just get the Core okay?" _as he clambers out of the hole and avoided the saber.

Every strikes are either dodges or blocked, on Axl's case he mostly evades and block then striking back due to a fact that he's not much of an expert on the scythe. He can perform close combat but he's far more better on long range. 'Once Sigma is deleted, I'll ask Zero to mentor me with this.' the hunter reminded himself as he blocks another attack and hops away from the renegade, before charging back at him.

But the renegade anticipated this and with full power parries against the scythe. With much force, it causes Axl to let go of the scythe and fell on the ground. It is sent flying to the wall, near Yugi and the gang who gave a frightful squeak when it stabbed on the wall.

"Crap!" he hissed as he scrambles to get up, only to have the tip of the saber pointed at his neck.

"Well now… this is the ever, wonderous reploid-human hybrid." Agile mocked as he grins smugly. "Never thought you fight like a pansy, pity… I was looking forward for a good fight."

"I'm a long range shooter, twit." the brunet snarled as he gives his deadliest glare towards him.

"Hmph… well, long range are back stabbers." he stated then shifts for the kill when… he screamed in pain as a plasma shot to his back.

"Like me?" a familiar voice asked and everyone turns to see Sora with her gun smoking. "I think I'm starting to like being a gunner." with a grin.

"You- ARGH!" he once again feels pain, but it's twice painful and turns to see Axl holding up his smoking pistols at him. With another press of the trigger, he sprayed bullets on him and… Agile is deleted as the bits of his data floats up into the air. Axl releases his breath as he slumps back on the ground, while Sora steps out of the stage and walks toward her brother.

"You okay?" She asked and lands a hand to him.

"Yep…" he replied meekly as he takes her hand and stands up. "So, you got the core?"

"It's in here." she said with smile and shows him the crystal clover, which is big as the rose.

"So… that's the core." Pegasus said, and the two looks up to see him and their friends. Jou practically tackled the brunet and exclaimed that the fight was awesome, if it wasn't for the scythe to land way too near to them. Sora made assurance to the silver-hair man that the stage is safe and sound. As Axl heads to get his scythe, they all hear a 'ting' sound and then a crack. That's when they all turn to see the stage and thee flowers…

Crystallizing itself.

Everyone are surprise and shock, but the one who is mostly shock(and nearly going to have a heart attack) is Pegasus.

"… Whoa…" Rouge said, then looks at Sora. "Was… that suppose to happen?" she meekly asked.

"I have no idea." her partner replied.

**:::^*^:::**

The triplets are quite thankful to the fact that Pegasus let them go after the stage crystallizes itself. Turns out that the crystal is the very crystal he used to proposed to Cecilia. He first found it when they first found the place and hid it from her till he attaches it to a ring. He now plans to move the stage to his mansion where it is mostly safe.

Once they arrived to the Game Shop, the gang heads to their respected homes for a good rest. Rebecca, on the other hand, have to go back to America to help her grandfather with a new expedition. Which left the siblings to find the place on their own.

While trying to figure out the location of where the Core originates, Yugi let them use the computer in their living room. As they hack into the network and to be extra careful from being trace, a limo pulled in front of the Game Shop.

"Hey… is that Kaiba's limo?" Surugoku asked, as he cleans one of the chess pieces and saw the limo in front. Yugi, who's helping with the stocks, also turns to see it and sees Mokuba coming out of it.

"Yeah, but it's not Kaiba, it's Mokuba." Yugi stated as the young raven boy enters the shop. "Hey, it's nice to see you again."

"Same to you, Yugi." Mokuba greeted back.

"So what's brings you here?" the duel king asked.

"A… A-actually, I'm here to ask a favor." Mokuba asked in a hush tone. He also asked where the Hikari siblings are and Yugi points at the living room where the computer is set up. Allowing him in, he quickly discard his shoes and finds the two crowding on the computer screen while the navis are searching for anything related to the Core.

"We're looking for clues on a place! Not a movie!" the brunette stated as her navi apologizes and drops the false clue. "Find anything, Rock-nii?" and the blue navi shakes his head when…

"Sora-nee?" the two turns back to see the younger Kaiba.

"Mokuba!" the brunette said with a smile as the young hunter nodded at him as a greeting. "What brings you here?"

"W-well…" he muttered and then launch on a full explanation of the problem of his brother. On how off-character he is, how easily he gets annoyed and all. "Last time he screamed at me and apologizes afterwards."

"What the hell?" Rouge said. "Don't tell me that after his bowing stunt made him like that."

"No, I don't think that is the problem… is it?" Mokuba asked and looks at the Hikari Triplets and Rouge.

"Well…" Sora suggests. "Why don't you let me and my brother console him?"

"Really?" Mokuba said with a cheer.

"Are you sure about this?" Rockman asked.

"Have you forgotten that my boyfriend used to be an ice cube?" his sister replied back.

"Oh… right." the blue navi muttered, remembering that Enzan was once a cold person.

After an extra hour of looking for the said location, the triplets then decided to give it another day and left with Mokuba. As they head there, they further discuss about the CEO's behavior and made suggestions and options, on how to approach him without getting hit back by his sharp and icy tongue. Still, they don't know how to approach him carefully till Sora remembers on what she did to Enzan: Discuss other things then attack the subject once off-guard.

However, she knows that the situation between him and Kaiba are frankly different and does not know his history or the source of the problem. 'Enzan-kun is cold to me because of the guilt of what happened to my younger brother… And Kaiba? Something is definitely disturbing him to be like that.' she thought.

Upon arriving on the mansion, Mokuba gives them the key card and the directions to the possible locations his brother is and bids them good luck. He also told them that the driver can send them back to the Game Shop once the task is finish, and then left to a friend's house for he was invited to a sleepover.

The triplets and Rouge looks at one another before looking at the huge front doors of the mansion.

"Well… Let's do the Dr. Phil over with." Rouge said with a shrug and the siblings walks toward the doors.

**:::^*^:::**

Eyes glues on the screen and typing furiously on the keyboard, he makes sure that his company will keep itself on the top spot in the gaming industry. But…

Looking sideway and staring on the file that the blasted stranger gave to him. He would've burn it away and pretend that it was a lie, but the back of his mind is telling him to keep it for it is very important…

'Important, my ass.' he thought with annoyance as he focus back on his work.

Rid of it or not… it is driving him nearly mad.

As he reads on a game proposal, he hears the gentle knock on the door. Thinking of it as the maid or one of his employees, he allowed them to come in. But to his surprise, which is masked behind a stern face, he saw Sora and her brother enters. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Uh… Mokuba kinda requested it." Rockman said as he appears and the brunet CEO caught himself staring at the blue navi, before looking back on his laptop.

"He is not here." he stated calmly with a hint of tone which says 'Leave now'.

"We know…" the female Net Savior responds. "But your brother is not who we came for."

And the typing stops.

"Did you know that your brother is worried on you to death?" Rouge asked.

"… I don't care." he merely stated.

"Oi!" Netto shouts but he refrain himself from marching to him when his sister blocks him. Once she gave him a look, she turns back to the CEO.

"Alright… but I will only request for you not you shun your brother out." She stated calmly as her arm fell limp on her side.

"… Very well." Seto stated coldly as the tapping on the keyboard became louder and harder, this made the two look at each other with worry. They didn't leave like what he wanted, instead they are still in his office and watching him.

As if he needed a babysitter.

Thinking of a way to get rid of the two, the lights flickers a bit and so did the laptop screen. They wondered if it's the power when… out of the blue, a black hole appears from the floor, right between the triplets and Seto. And then out comes a brown blur which tackles the brunet off his seat and causes papers to fly.

"Whoa! Se- Rush?" Netto said in surprise as he came around the table and saw the ever familiar, cartoon-ish brown dog their father made. The said dog barks happily and jumps off the CEO to greet the youngest Hikari. "Hey!" he said cheerfully as he also apologizes for the digital dog's behavior.

Noticing the mess, the triplets offers the help him but he declines it and hurriedly picks the papers up… until… the brunette notice a paper stuck on the digital dog's foot and removes it.

"Seto… is this…" Sora said, looking at the paper she removed from Rush's foot and her eyes widens. "A DNA test."

Seto's eyes are much more wider than before, with paranoia and alarm, as he quickly snatch the paper from Sora's hand and quickly stuffing it into the drawer… But the damage is done.

"Seto, are you… is this what you're making Mokuba worried about?" she asked, at first there was silence before he slowly nodded.

"So are you saying that…" Netto said with concern on the CEO.

"Yes… I'm not related to Mokuba." Seto stated, his tone is devoid from any emotion and never shows any weakness. "Now you know, you're going to tell the world that I'm a complete orphan and Mokuba is the only one who used to have a family. Fine, do it! I don't really care!"

"Whoa, calm down." Sora said, with both hands up and trying to calm the CEO down. The sibling sense each word his anger is slowly rising. "We promise we won't tell."

Still distrusting them, he shouted at them to get out and to stay away from him. Knowing he needed peace before confronting his problems, the siblings heads out with Rush in Netto's arms and sighs… but before they could step outside the office, the door suddenly slams shut and nearly hitting Sora on the face.

"You really need to cool down." a new voice said and they turn to see the cloaked lady again.

"You!" the three brunets/brunettes shouts, they look at each other brief before they return back on glaring/staring at the stranger.

"What the hell do you want?" The CEO snarled at her.

"It's seems that everyone is here… good." the lady said and looks at the brown dog. "Rush, return to the net."

The digital dog droops his ears a bit, before jumping out of Netto's arms and into the black hole. Once the black hole disappeared, she walks toward the three, more on Seto. Seeing this, both siblings quickly moves to the front of the CEO, defending him.

"What do you want with him?" Sora demands the lady as she stops a few feet from them.

"… Do you want to know your family, Seto?" the lady asked.

Hearing that he snap his head up to look at her, he then growls and his glare intensifies. "Mokuba is my only family." he snarled.

But she only releases a sigh before looking back at him. "I gave you a proof about yourself and yet you deny it." she stated.

"I even doubt that the test is even real." he stated in a angry tone.

"Hey, you gave him the DNA test result?" Sora asked, looking quite surprise and angry at the same time.

"… Yes." the lady stated and returns her attention to the CEO. "Seto… do you want to know who your real family is?" the lady asked, he merely stare at her before nodding stiffly, wanting to know what the lady is planning and catch her there off-guard. Sora and Netto keeps him and her on a good distance, while eyeing an escape route or a way to bring her down.

"Very well… but I can only tell you your mother's name, the rest is for you to find." she stated, knowing what they have planned… and she is going straight to the point.

"… Fine." The brunet CEO said and she smiles.

"Your mother is… Her." the lady stated and points at Sora, and the female Net Savior froze on shock and disbelief while her brothers and her net navi stares at her with wide eyes.

**:::^*^:::**

Somewhere…

A smile forms on his lips, sensing his partner have accomplished her task.

Now… he is set out to accomplish his.

**:::^*^:::**

"Wait, are you saying that…" Sora said in shock and disbelief, pointing at herself in the process. "I'm Seto's mother?"

The CEO brunet would scoff that off, thinking of it as a prank. But with the damn DNA test haunting in his mind that he and Mokuba are not blood-related, he is just silent and stared at the cloaked female with incredulity .

"… Yes… you are his mother." the female stranger said and they look at her incredulously with shock.

"Wait! I-if s-s-she's the mother-er, then I-I'm…" Netto stuttered, pointing at himself.

"The uncle, of course." the stranger replied and the young reploid nearly fainted on that fact. "Considering that the gem made you hop-scotch, frankly thousands of years."

'Thousands…?' Rockman thought with disbelief.

"Impossible!" Rouge shouts, letting logic kick in. "How is it even possible that… her "son" could even lived that many? Humans can't do that!"

At first the stranger is silent, before she burst out laughing and covers her mouth. "Oh dear, I'm very sorry." she replied. "It's just… so ironic, hearing it from you."

Before any one could answer. "I HAVE ENOUGH!" Seto finally shouts and slams his fist on the wall, making the triplets jump. "I will not accept this nonsense and I don't believe in all of this crap!"

"Hmmm… But you should, dear." The stranger stated with a calm voice.

"And who are you to tell me?" Seto snarled at her, his eyes are dark with rage.

The mysterious lady just smiled and closes her eyes. "Very like your mother, placing your misplaced aggression on the ones you get pissed off." and then looks at them once more. "Very well then." she stated as she removed her hood…

And everything became still…

The stranger is none other than… Rouge EXE.

* * *

Chibi Blues: Sha-King!

Silver: Sora is Seto's mother? XD! Yeah I kinda played his name… It turns out: **S** is from Sora, **E** is from Enzan and **TO** is from Saito and Netto… And Seto is the result! And honestly… this chapter was every mean to me during their quest with Pegasus… But I swear revenge on the next chapter, MWAHAHAHAHAHA! (coughs) Sneak Peek! (coughs)

* * *

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Ugh…" CF Rouge winces as she gets up.

"M- Sora! Are you okay?" Seto shouts with concern as he holds up the shield.

"I'm fine, Seto." she replied, getting up and dusting off her armor. "I need to protect…" but she stop speaking when the CEO grabs her hand and she looks at him. His hair covers his eyes and seems to be shaking a little.

"Please… try not to kill yourself or…" he trailed off, then he felt something soft on his forehead and looks up to see his future mother smiling at him.

"Don't worry." She quipped cheerily with a wink. "I'm not that easy to kill, you know."

* * *

Silver: Okay, how about a dare… can you decode the binary message? Apparently, the codes kinda went missing when I first upload it, but I manage to fix it! Till then Ja ne!


	33. Duel Online, Twelve Stars

(Disclaimer: Plata-Azul Firebird does not own Rockman and Yugioh, if it does… making Enzan and Seto related would be possible.)

_**Connected Hearts**_

_**Duel Online - Twelve Stars**_

Silver: And the end of the arc! Will they find the Key?

* * *

**Duel Online - Twelve Stars**

In the throne room, Sigma looks at the item the lady showed to him.

"You like it?" she asked.

"What is this, Fatin?" Sigma asked.

"Oh, just a prototype… it is something to test before giving it to you." Fatin said as the screen of the image vanished by the wave of her hand. "After all, only this can bring out the best out of you."

"Not bad." Sigma said with a smug smile.

"Fatin-chan! Sigma-sama!" Meiru shouts as the screen came online and Vile appears beside the two renegade. Although the Renegade leader couldn't admit that the human girl is good, he couldn't help making a disgust face about it. But with the deal and advantage of the two elite Hunters' weaknesses, he have to endure it for a while. "It's almost finish! The new virus is almost done!"

"Wonderful, little princess." Fatin said with a cute tone. "Of course, the knight also did a fabulous job watching and protecting over her.

Vile merely miffed at that comment and looks away, while the lady further discuss with the girl about the virus' process. Once they finished their meeting… "Well then, I think we should head back."

"Eh? We're not going to get the second Key?" Meiru asked.

"Of course, we will but we'll let them… keep it for now." The lady said in a cheery, confident tone. "I think this would be the right time to test our prototype, won't we?"

"And who's going to be the test subject?" Vile asked, out of curiosity.

And with a snap of her fingers, a huge silhouette of a monster dominates them. "I do heard of overkill, but that is not in my dictionary, boys." Fatin stated with a smug smile.

**:::^*^:::**

Sitting and not knowing what to say about the situation, Sora, Netto and Seto waited in the living room along with Rouge EXE for another DNA test result.

As they wait for the test result that can prove Seto is Sora's future son…

"This is… weird." Netto whispered to his sister, who's looking at the other female navi who's staring out of the window.

"True." she replied back.

"Well, if it's true… I do see some resemblance." he added.

"Eh?" She said, a bit clueless.

"Look, he got brown hair, in the similar shade of ours." he explained. "And since Enzan is going to be your husband, that's where the blue eyes come from… He better be thankful for the height from him too… And, unlike your boyfriend, he looks more… 'manly'."

"Oi… what's that suppose to mean?" his sister asked in annoyance.

"Well… he does look a bit feminine…" he said sheepishly, before he cringed on his sister's yell at him. This cause the other two occupant to look at them, she then uttered a quick apology and sits back down on the sofa.

Both navis are staring at the future counterpart in the real world, both wondering how she's in the real world and why is she alone…

What happen to the future Sora…?

"This is… frankly, I don't know how to describes this." Rouge said, as the blue bomber nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean we traveled thru time?" Rockman said as he watches and waiting for the test to arrive.

"Do you think….." his female friend trailed off.

"I have no idea, Rouge." Rockman said as they continue to watch the future navi.

Back outside, disliking the silence, Netto starts a conversation…

"So… how did you ended up a CEO?" he asked. "Not that I kinda know you're… related to us, but a thousand years…"

"I don't want to believe it." the CEO stated sternly and the brunet immediately shuts up.

"Set-kun, be nice." The future female navi said in a stern and motherly way. But the brunet gave her a look before he continues ignoring them.

"But… Rouge." Sora said.

"Hai?" Both Rouge answered and they look at each other.

"Not you, I meant the future you." the brunette stated at her present navi.

"This will get confusing." Netto said and looks at the future female navi. "Do you have any nicknames we can call you?"

The future Rouge thinks for a moment and looks back at them. "Add Prism to my name… it is mostly the name of one of my default weapon, and there are sometimes others calls me that."

"Alright… Prism Rouge, what happened to the future me?" the brunette asked.

Silence reign into the room, making the triplets very uncomfortable and Seto merely noticed their reaction. After what it looks like a full minute, for the triplets feels like it's been half an hour… "Sorry, but that I cannot answer." P. Rouge answered as she stared back at the window. "You shouldn't know…"

The siblings look at her and the room is back into it's silent state again, till the results came into the mail. Seto instructed the doctors to test the DNA, not to look at the result and have it delivered to his house. Of course, he paid the doctor a high price and made him sign a paper which they made on that agreement. And if the doctor break that agreement… that doctor will find himself on the worst side of his life once he announces it.

Once the brunet move to get the result, the siblings are anxious and frankly impatient but keep themselves on their seats. P. Rouge merely turns to see their reaction and smiled a little, as she looks back on her scenic view.

Dismissing his servant, locking the door shut and sitting back on the armchair, he then faces the two with a stern stare. "This… not what that lady tested herself, is the true result."

"The result that would prove that Sora is your mother." P. Rouge stated without looking at him.

"No, the result that would show that you're delusional." Seto snapped back while she stare back at him. Without hesitation and confidence, he opens the brown envelop and…

**:::^**_*_**^:::**

"So… what now…?" Netto asked as they walked home instead of taking the limo. "Seto is our family in the future and he'll deny it."

"I have no idea Netto… I haven't even developed my maternal instinct yet." Sora said, joking a little as they stop and wait for the cross light to turn green. "Still… it's unbelievable…"

Once the brunet CEO read the result, there was a moment where he froze on his seat and his hands are paralyzed. It caused him to drop the papers and it flew to the triplets. By picking the paper, they too received an equal shock upon seeing the result.

Sora is Seto's mother.

"Well, we can hop into different worlds… can time-traveling be any different?" Rockman asked, as he appears on Netto's shoulder.

"Rock, Time-traveling involves breaking the time barrier which is a bit more easier than dimension-hopping." Rouge stated.

"Easy? How?" the blue navi asked.

"Dimension hopping requires breaking both time AND space, Rock." she noted, and the male navi mouthed an "oh".

"So… should we keep this a secret from dad and the others or…?" Netto asked, looking aat his sister sheepishly.

"Secret, definitely secret." Sora quickly answered, as a headlight blinded them for a moment and a limo stops beside them. The door opens and the CEO sticks out a bit with a bland look, but nonetheless there is a spark of respect in them.

"Get in." he stated… more of demanded really.

"Uh…" Sora uttered.

"Are you okay?" Netto asked.

"Get. In." He grounded out and the two looks at each other before getting into the vehicle. Inside, they are silent as the vehicle begins to move, merely looking at the brunet CEO and then each other.

Then…

"… First thing is first, I don't want to believe all this but that damn navi of yours just solidified her claim." he said in a monotone tone and stares at them.

"Future me further proves that you're a Hikari? How?" Rouge asked.

"Uh… Rouge, if I'm going to have a son, don't you think my family name would change since I would get marry?" her partner pointed out the tiny mistake.

"Oh right…" the female navi muttered. "Since Enzan is your boyfriend, then an Ijuin then."

"This Enzan… is my father?" the brunet asked, taking out a picture and pointing at a part of it. On it is Sora, Enzan and Laika in a party after they defeated Nebula 4 years ago.

"Yup, you definitely got his eyes." Netto noted, after seeing it and added. "And his attitude when we first met."

"Where did you get this picture?" Sora asked, gently taking the picture and looks at it. There is a subtle change on it, like it's a bit brownish

"From her." he said flatly.

"Seto, don't be so grumpy, you finally got to meet them you know." A female voice said and a screen near Seto lit up, in it is none other than Prism Rouge who looks at the two. "Manage to make him personally give you guys a lift, at least."

"Whoa, how did you do that?" Netto asked.

"We have… a talk, isn't that right?" P. Rouge said and smiled sweetly at the CEO.

'You only took advantage at my shock, you damn… my logic only kicked in when I'm already in the limo and a meter from them.' the brunet CEO thought sourly, as he sulks in his seat. "I'm letting you stay with me, but don't expect a VIP treatment." he stated.

"I… see." Rouge said with an eyebrow raised, although it couldn't be seen by her helmet as her future counterpart is giggling.

"Don't worry, he's just sour." she quipped and in response the CEO made a low growl. The Net Savior and Hunter looks at each other with the same thought running in their mind.

'He's definitely Enzan's son by attitude.' they thought, as the limo parks beside the Game Shop. This time, they are going to get their stuff and the Core, cause they are moving in with Seto.

**:::^*^:::**

"Are you sure?" Yami asked, currently Yugi is speechless and he takes over, when they heard that the siblings are moving to Kaiba's mansion.

"Yeah… we have our reasons." Sora said, as she secure the Core in the PET's sub-space.

"I can't believe after you talk to him, he wants you to move in with him." Yami stated in a deadpanned tone.

"It's… complicated, waaaaay too hard to explain." Sora replied. And she means it, after all… who would believe that they just time traveled on this timeline and met her own son? Believing Yami as a spirit trapped in the puzzle is one thing, but this would take the cake on the two. "But look at this way, Yami. If I convince Seto to let me modify one of his duel stages, we'll invite and show you how we Net Battle."

"Still…" Yami uttered.

"Don't worry! We'll be fine, **A-Okay!**" the brunette said in total assurance and confidence as Netto finally packed his deck into the sub-space. "He'll… uh… how should I say this? It can't be nice, uh… calm, cool, patient, yeah, he'll be patient for us."

"… Alright, but if he treats you badly, you're welcome to come back here." Yami said, as Netto comes up to his sister and she nodded. They bid good-bye to the pharaoh and races down the stairs, they also bid good-bye to the elder and heads out to the limo. The two takes one more look on their friend before getting in.

**:::^*^:::**

Once they arrived at the mansion, the first greeted the raven boy, who in turn became extremely happy that Seto allowed them to stay at their place. The boy literally drag the girl to the game room, leaving the two behind.

"Uh… I'll just find them." Netto said awkwardly, as he is about to enter…

"Wait." Seto said and the brunet reploid nearly tripped on one of the steps. "This is your first time here, right?"

"Errr… yeah." he replied.

The CEO sighs and walks toward him. "Follow me." he stated and walks ahead of him.

The young hunter yelped in embarrassment and tries to convince this "nephew" that it's okay, and he can find his sister easily. But the brunet ignored him and with a defeated sigh, he follows him down the halls. As they head to the said game room, where Mokuba dragged his sister…

"What is your sister like?" the brunet asked and nearly made the hunter jump by the sudden question. Right now, Rockman is in his PET doing the standard check-up and the research of the Core location, so a distraction from him is very minimal.

"Uh… well…" Netto mumbled as he tries to find a suitable word for his sister. "She's smart, friendly, accepting… and always looking out for others. Why do you want to know?"

There was a bit of silence, only the sound of footsteps echoes as they walk… then they come to a stop. The hunter has no clue on where they are, the only clue he sees is that they are near the huge garden.

"… possible?" the CEO whispered and the hunter seems to understand.

"Hey." Netto said moving in front of him. "Take a look at me."

He then transforms into his armor and nearly gave the CEO a shock, because he doesn't know how advance the siblings' technology in their time. He now wondered how all of those just disappeared and faded away… "I'm half machine." he stated. "Yet my sister still sees me as her younger brother."

"Younger? Odd, you look much older then her." Seto stated.

"Well, that's how this body was built anyway." the hunter stated. "I was a Net Savior like my sister, I was eleven when I was recruited into it."

"Wait? You mean the police recruit children in your time?" the CEO asked out of shock.

"Well… not really." the hunter explained. "It was because I'm the only one who can perform Cross Fusion perfectly and I was the first too. But, ironically, I was the first to die." And the brunet CEO look at him. "But, by luck, somebody found my body and transferred my mind and soul into this new body, with a few human parts in it. But I was placed in stasis because my system needed testing. And once I wake up and got myself recruited into the Hunters, I met my sister, who has taken my place as the Net Savior."

Neither of them uttered any word and it was frankly 'the oddest uncle-nephew talk', as the hunter puts it. Till…

"…How old are you exactly now?" Seto asked.

"Uh… 15, I mean Rockman, Sora and I are triplets, you know." Netto stated.

"Oh." he replied and continues their way… before. 'Wait a minute! I also got an A.I. program as my uncle too?' he thought out of the blue.

**:::^*^:::**

After they showed them their rooms, it was time for dinner and things seems to go smoothly with Mokuba chatting with the triplets. But there are times the siblings looks at Seto with concern, before resuming talking with the boy. They knew it will be hard to tell him the truth that they are not truly brothers. As soon as it's over…

"Hey." Sora called, catching up with the brunet CEO who is just heading for the office. "Uh, can I ask you something?"

"What?" Seto replied.

"Well, I promised the gang to show them the Net Battle." She stated. "The thing is we don't have any Net Battle Domes, and your Duel Arenas are the closest thing to our technology."

"So you're asking me to allow you to re-modify one of my Duel Arenas?" he asked, she nods meekly as he sighs. He is very sensitive on having someone tamper on his machines and system, due to his past competitors. But Sora is asking permission to change out of his machine, and not to mention her status as his mother. Sighing again and rubbing his forehead. "Very well, you can use one of them in my amusement park, mama." he approved in a monotone voice.

"Thanks Se- what did you call me?" she quickly asked out of shock and the CEO stared at her, before he is hit back on the last word he said and quickly heads to his office to avoid embarrassment. At the same time, Sora stands there before she stiffly returns to the room she and her brother is staying.

"Hey… are you okay?" Rockman asked, as Netto finds one of his battle chips that he dropped by accident.

"I… I got a permission to re-modify one of the Duel Arenas for a Net Battle…" She said stiffly and both brothers stare at her. "… And he called me mama…" she added sheepishly.

"EH?" both said in surprise.

**:::^*^:::**

"Okay… test it." Sora called.

"Plug-in! Rockman EXE! Transmission!" Netto declared as he points his PET at the plug-in port. And to their joy, the ever-familiar digital field appeared with the blue navi in it.

It's been a week since they moved into the Kaiba Manor, and things when into a bit of trouble in that week. Like when both Honda and Jou went marching at the mansion's gate and declaring to release the "hostage" triplets. That gave the CEO a bad mood as he leaves for work, thankfully Sora and Netto are able to convince the gang that they chose to stay with the cold brunet. However, they didn't say the reason why but they promised to invite them to Kaibaland to show them the Net Battles.

Yet, a week also causes for them to spend time with Seto, who's directing the park for a while. They learned things from each other, like their hatred on the roach and the dislike sound of nails scratching on the board. The CEO learns that he is very much like his father, in terms of status and skills. Like Enzan can throw battle chips to the thugs and Seto is quite similar but with cards. They soon come in with good term with one another, and if by-passers walk by, they'll see them as related. Also, Seto comes to know Rush, who just kept popping out of nowhere, just to glomp on the CEO.

Thankfully, he doesn't do it in public or when Mokuba is with him.

Right now, they finally re-modify the arena and it is working like the ones in their home.

"Whoo… finally, it's been long since I have a good Net Battle." Netto said.

"Yeah, the unfortunate thing is… your only opponent is me." Sora said with a smile.

"True… which reminds me…" the hunter said and looks at his sister. "We didn't battled each other, did we?"

"Ah true." she said sheepishly, scratching her cheek. "I guess we're too close, knitted sibling to even think of challenging each other." as her brother laugh sheepishly in agreement.

"So, shall we arrange a get-together this Sunday?" Rouge asked.

"Scheduled it." Both Sora and Netto said at the same time and smirk at one another. And both navis sense that either of them will hold back in this fight.

**:::^*^:::**

"Hey guys." Sora greeted, as Yugi and the gang run up to them while Seto remain on the stands with Mokuba. Somewhere, P. Rouge is watching and smiles at this.

And still… Seto didn't peep a word of him and Mokuba on not being related.

Back to the scene, Sora and Netto heads to the arena while the gang heads to the stands, not too far from the brunet CEO.

Once they're set…

"Ready?" Both siblings asked their navis and they nodded. "Alright… Plug in! Rockman/Rouge EXE! Transmission!"

Then the arena shifts it's lens upwards and creates a hologram of the inner system or the battle field itself. There the two navis appears in a flash, with smiles of respect at one another

"Ne, since my body has improved, I'll let you throw the first punch." Rouge said.

"Nah, I got my operator back, so why don't we do this fairly?" Rockman stated and his opponent chuckled.

"Alright then." she replied.

"Wow… it looks like they are in their own world." Honda said, out of observation.

"Yeah." Yugi said in agreement and the screen that says BATTLE START appears, and then…

Rockman charges at the female navi and throws rapid punches on her, but she evades it in one smooth move and jumps above. "Yoyo! Slot-in!" Sora stated and Rouge's arm forms a container for the said weapon. She then throws it out as Rockman dodges it and shoots back with his Rock Buster. She avoids the shots and throw out her chain.

"Holy! That's awesome!" Honda said in amazement…

However…

**:::^**_Flashback_**^:::**

"_Mu…" a young brunet boy said as he lost in the training sequence and sighs._

"_Don't fret." A gentle voice said. "You'll get it next time."_

"_Mama!" the boy said with a smile and hugs her gently because she's carrying his new sibling in her. "Can you show me how to beat that level?" She smiled at him and nodded in response, as she took his hand and they both head to the Net Battle Dome. After a day of Net Battle training…_

"_Remember, Seto… No matter what, I'll always be with you, in there." she said, pointing at his chest, where the heart is. "And don't forget to live your life the way you wanted."_

**:::^*^:::**

Seto snapped back into reality and holds his head. 'Are those…?' he thought, then he hears explosion and saw Rockman throwing Mini Bombs at Rouge. It did not hit her but it creates a smoke screen for him to hide. High on alert, she looks around and then flips back to avoid Rockman's Gold Fist and kicks him from behind.

"Not bad!" Sora said, as she picks out chips. "They are really not lying when they said that we are equal on operation skills."

"Heh, I can do better than that sis, I'm just a bit rusty." Netto said smugly, as he takes out his own chips.

"Wow… they are… really fired up." Tea said, sweat-dropping a bit.

"Program Advance!" they both shouted and inserted three chips in quick and unified successions. "Beta Sword/Zeta Cannon!"

Both of the attacks hits each other and cancels out, then Rouge quickly moves out of the way making the blue navi miss hitting her with the Shotgun. Netto whistled in amazement and slot-in an Area Steal and Paladin sword, while Rouge merges her chain into one long blade attached to her arm, called Prism Blade. They charges at one another and their weapons hits with sparks flying, while both sibling operators are smirking. And then…

"I hope you don't weep on the loss." Sora said confidently.

"Same to you, sis!" her brother replied back. "Alright! Ca- Whoa!"

They yelped when the building shakes and everyone drops to the floor out of instinct. Once it's over… "What was that?" Netto asked.

"An earthquake?" Mokuba asked.

"Experience tells me, that when the ground shakes…" Sora said and then they heard a loud roar outside. "Trouble is just outside. Rouge! Plug -out! We'll continue this later, ne Netto?" she said as she plugs out her navi as Netto agreed and plugs Rockman out.

They both jumps off the stand and heads outside.

"Where are they going?" Yugi asked.

"_Follow them." _Yami said and he runs out with the gang on his tail and the Kaiba brothers following after.

**:::^*^:::**

Once they got outside in the open, they heard a roar once more and suddenly sent Sora and Netto off the ground!

"Oh my goodness!" Tea yelped in surprise as the two fell roughly on the ground and they rush to their side… even Seto dashed towards the siblings.

"Ow… what in…" then Sora's mouth drop. Her brothers are also in shock on seeing… "No way! It's the Super Cyber Beast Grezar!"

Then they heard a laugh and look up to see… "Sigma!" both siblings shouts and takes out their guns, but the bald navi merely laughs at it as it was shot away by… "Meiru!" they yelped upon seeing the cross fused girl.

"Netto-kun!" the armored girl said cheerily and blows the new gen a kiss, which somehow… gave him a creeps. And beside her is…

"YOU!" P. Rouge shouts, appearing out of nowhere and startling the gang and Mokuba.

"Well… nice to see you too." Fatin said.

"You know her?" Sora asked as she gets up from the ground.

"Yeah… she's Fatin, the very source of your troubles and where Sigma gets most of his assets." the future navi said. "And she's been targeting the Keys you've been after, which is why Sigma is also after it."

"True, but I like sharing it to others who are worthy!" she replied cheerily. "Besides, it will give Sigma a opportunity to rule not one world… but the entire universe… no… the entire dimensions of each universes."

"WHAT!" both of us exclaimed, heck even Sigma is surprise at this.

"What's the meaning of this, Fatin?" the Renegade Leader demanded. Evidently has no idea of what she's thinking, but she merely chuckles and covers half of her face with a fan.

"Why don't we discuss it in private, ne, Lord Sigma?" she said in a flirty way.

"Like we would let you!" both siblings screamed, Sora in her CF Form and Axl charges at them… but only to be sent back down by a strong unknown force from Fatin's fan. They couldn't even get up from it.

"Some heroes you are." she sneered and, with the force, she flings them to the lamp post and knock out the air in them.

"Sora! Netto!" Yami shouts, having switched with Yugi, he and the gang rushes to the two while Seto gives the three his icy and deathly glare.

'Odd… that boy, he seems… nah, this is just another world after all.' Fatin thought. With enough sweet talk to the Renegade leader, they left the battlefield except for the Super Cybeast. The huge monster roars at them and sent them flying into the trees.

"Ugh…" CF Rouge winces as she gets up and her brother helps the others out.

"M- Sora! Are you okay?" Seto shouts with concern as he helps her up.

"I'm fine, Seto." she replied, getting up steadily and dusting off her armor. "I need to protect…" but she stop speaking when the CEO grabs her hand and she looks at him. His hair covers his eyes and seems to be shaking a little.

"Please… try not to kill yourself or…" he trailed off, then he felt something soft on his forehead and looks up to see his future mother smiling at him.

"Don't worry." She quipped cheerily with a wink. "I'm not that easy to kill, you know." And she jumps into the battle with her brother beside her.

"P. Rouge! Watch over them!" she quickly shouts to the future navi as she flies.

"Mama…" he whispered, as P. Rouge coaxes him to a safe ground.

**:::^*^:::**

"Okay Axl, make sure you save some of your bullets or you're going to be screwed in this one." CF Rouge quipped, as she flies toward the cybeast.

"You don't have to remind me, sis." Axl said. "Besides, I manage to get this gun upgraded myself."

"Eh? You upgraded the gun yourself?" his sister asked.

"Yep! Additional 100 data bullets!" he replied. "although, the recharging hours has an additional one hour."

"Ooh, that sucks." she stated and her brother nodded at that. Once they get near the monster, they fire at it and dodges the shockwave roar from it. It then fires out lightning from it's steel mane and they got hit. But CF Rouge shakes it off and transform into her Falzer Beast out mode. She then calls out her sword and attacks the Grezar, which gave no effect when she hits it. "What?" She said in surprise and then she is swat down to the ground.

"Sora!" Axl shouts and flies up to shoot on the beast above but he is stuck down by the electric attack again. "Argh!" he screamed.

"Axl!" his sister shouts and quickly uses her Program Advance, Zeta Cannon, on the huge beast. Unfortunately, even with a huge size, it dodges the shot. 'What's up with this Cybeast? As if that cueball have upgraded the monster!' she thought and strikes back with her Prism Chain.

**:::^*^:::  
**

"I'm quite impress, Fatin." Sigma stated as he watches the fight from the screen in his base. "I'm sure that the improved one will be quite useful."

"Oh, but that is just the beginning my dear." Fatin said and looks back watching. "That is just the opening act."

"But tell me, Fatin, what is inside the BRIDGE?" the renegade leader asked.

"Well… I'll just give you only one clue and why don't you figure it out." she said in a teasing way. "The clue is… cycle." and smiles when both siblings are sent flying to ground again, then the beast charges a laser in it's mouth. "Looks like your heroes are a fail, Liberius."

**:::^*^::::**

Both siblings screams as they are hit by the laser, hit's the building and are bury under the pile of debris. Yugi and the gang watch in horror as they are hit and buried under the concrete, glass and metal… but the one with the most reaction is…

Seto just dash to the pile and began digging the two out, horror and denial is present in his eyes as he frantically digs them out. 'Please… please!' he thought as he pushes the concrete that couldn't move. "Damn it! Move!" he snarled and pushes again… this time, he got some help from the king of games and the blonde.

While the Cybeast busy itself on destroying the park with P. Rouge distracting it, Yugi and the gang tries to get the Hikari triplets out of the debris when… "Here… Here…" they heard a familiar voice.

"Rockman!" Seto exclaimed and they dig out where the source of the voice is.

And there… they saw the blue navi, out of his PET with no idea how he done that and is shielding his younger siblings from being pressed by the weight of the pile. Both Axl and CF Rouge are knock out and wounded, some parts of the reploid body is sparking while the Cross Fusion nearly fuse out but it repairs itself back.

"Sora! Netto!" Yami shouts and the gang rush to their sides as the blue navi fell on the ground, but he caught him. Then the two wakes up and come around…

"Ugh…" Axl winced and tries to move slowly, but his move body protested in pain. "Damn it…"

"Ow…" his sister whined as her Beast Out Mode breaks away and she is back into her default form. "What the hell is with that monster?" she winces and tries to stand only to fall forward and the CEO caught her before hitting the ground. "I'm alright, I need to stop that thing from rampaging to the city."

"Mama…" Seto whispered, in his lowest tone so that the others couldn't hear except for her. "Please… just go back… I can't…" as he remembers losing his first foster parents, they loved him like their own son before their death.

"I'm sorry, Seto." CF Rouge said in a firm whispering tone and a smile. "What kind of mother I'll be if I couldn't even protect the world my son would live in." she then proceed on facing the monster as Axl gets up and forces his body to move, picking up his guns and Rockman stands with his RockBuster on his arm. "No matter what…" I stated and summon out my XR-Buster. "I won't let that Renegade and that woman do as they pleases!" she exclaimed.

Then…

The deck holsters of the three duelist, it suddenly glowed and cards came flying out of it. Yami, Jou and Seto are surprise on this and it began circling on the triplets.

**:::^*^:::**

Meanwhile…

"Mini Bombs!" P. Rouge shouts and throws a bunch of bombs to the monster. But it has no effect and quickly dodges away from it's laser. She couldn't transform into any of her armors since it was sealed by her operator. As she is about to counter with the Cannon…

When…

She saw a glow and the card began circling on the three. She smiles. "Like before." she uttered. "Looks like the ball in in their court." as she dodges an attack. "Oi, don't be impatient! You'll be in for a magic show."

And she quickly retreats.

**:::^*^:::**

"Huh?" CF Rouge asked.

"What's wrong with the cards?" Jou asked Yami and frankly, he does not know. Then…with a flash of light, it blinded the gang for a moment and then… they're gone long with the cards. As they search for them, they heard a roar and they turn to see… "Holy Snicker Doodle! Is that the Red Eyes?" the blonde exclaimed.

"No, it's not a dragon!." Mokuba said, they look closely and saw… "It's a boy! It's a boy in a Red Eyes Black Dragon armor!"

"It's Rockman!" Seto exclaimed, realizing who it is as the black, dragon armored navi forms his Sword and delivers a hit on the Grezar. He then flies away, dodging the lightning strikes and retaliating back with his new buster, Black Inferno.

"Kokuendan!" he shouts and fires at the huge beast. The fiery shot then split into three and hits one area of the beast, which is the back. The beast roared in anger and strikes back with the bolts again, only to be absorb by the Scape Goats that the navi summon. And Jou is whooping in joy that his cards are able to help him out.

Then… the monster fires it's lasers and suddenly a pair of tubes came out of nowhere, just in front of the black dragon navi. One tube absorbs it's attack and the other fires it back to the monster.

"Hey… isn't that…" Tea said, looking at the sky and pointing at another figure not too far from Rockman. The figure wears a short cape and a hood in a familiar shape, also it is holding a familiar-looking staff

"It's Netto!" Yami said. "In the Dark Magician attire!"

The said teen smirk and cast a Spellbinding Circle on the Grezar, but it breaks and the beast roars that him. He nearly fell out the air if Rockman didn't caught him…

"Phew… so is she…?" Axl asked.

"Yup, make sure you cast multiple of those okay?" Rockman said.

"Right-o." his younger brother stated, as he flies back and once more cast Spellbinding Circle… this time, he cast about 10 of them. With that, the Grezar is struggling to get out and attack the two, not wasting time… "Oi! Sora! Fire it up!" he said cheerily.

'Wait… if Rockman has the Red Eyes and Netto got the Dark Magician…' Seto thought. "then that means…" he whispered and looks up to see a blue glow. His eyes widen in surprise of seeing a brunette in a Blue Eyes White Dragon armor, with a long gun and is charging for a powerful shot. "Sora! She got the Blue Eyes armor!" He exclaimed and the others look up, also surprise on seeing the brunette wielding the power of the White Dragon.

"Charge Burst Stream!" she yelled and released the trigger. A large charged shot erupted from the gun and hit's the beast, deleting him in no time.

**:::^*^:::**

"Well, that sucks." Vile stated.

"Oh, it's not yet over." Fatin said, as the Super Cybeast slowly dissolves.

"The prototype is a fail, what else do we need to watch?" the renegade navi asked.

"This." the lady stated and presses a button, hidden within her armor.

**:::^*^:::**

"That was awesome!" Both Jou and Honda exclaimed as they rush to the triplets landing, who are still donning the Duel Monster-type armor. And Seto seems to be calm, Mokuba and the gang thought he was annoyed since they knew of his obsession on the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

… But they didn't know about his connections with the three as a family though.

As they are about to celebrate their victory, from the sky, a dark beam shot down and hit's the slowly degrading Cybeast. And the triplets recognizes what it is…

"That black beam!" they exclaimed, as suddenly the ground shakes and they all saw the dark aura possessing what's left of the monster. It the rebuild itself with a few changes… It gain a pair of huge and long bull horns, it's mane look more spikier and deadly, canines long as a saber tooth, wings are now in a shape of bats or dragon wings, bigger claws and tails with spikes on them. It's color are more darker as it's eyes becomes dark bloody red, with gold details becoming silver.

It roars and it is more powerful, as it breaks the ground and the three quickly flies away with the group in their arms.

"What the hell was that?" Jou yelped in fright.

"That beam!" Rockman stated as they go a bit further from the beast. "It's the same beam that revive Cache once!"

"Damn." CF Rouge uttered as they land on a solid ground and let them go. "Stay here and don't call any police, I don't want any body count! Rouge, scan that thing!"

"_I'm on it!" _Rouge said as she and her brothers fly back into the air and charges back into battle. "Sora!" Yami shouts as they fly off.

"Can they beat it again?" Tea asked.

"Hey, they got the power of our cards, right?" Jou stated, trying to lighten up the mood but obviously it doesn't. Suddenly, the CEO nearly collapse as he holds his head and Mokuba quickly comes to his side. "Whoa! Are you okay there?" he expresses concern on him for once.

For some strange reason, Seto's eyes widens and he quickly runs back to the battlefield. He even shouts at the group to watch over Mokuba, as he heads into a building.

…

… But… when did the group ever listen, they too followed the brunet in hopes he got an idea how to aid the three.

**:::^*^:::**

Battling the Cybeast is not easy anymore, especially when it was revived by the black beam and overpowers you. What happened to Sora and Rockman against Cache was different compare to this. And Axl doubts that the Soul Unison of him, X and Zero will help, because it is too strong than that time.

"Charge Burst Stream!" she exclaimed and shoots at the monster, but it evaded it with incredible speed. "Dang it! GAH!" she yelped as the monster reappeared from above and landed on her, stomping her on the ground.

"Sora!" Rockman shouts with worry.

"Get off her! Dark Magic!" Axl shouts and cast a huge dark purple ball at it… but it didn't do any damage when it got hit. Instead, he got the huge beast even more mad and it cast black electric attacks on them. It gave her a chance to lift the foot and shoots out from under, causing the beast to fall to it's side. She then shot off into the air and shoots multiple Burst Stream at it but... it does no effect.

It roars in anger.

"… Um, how many enemies we have pissed off?" Axl asked, as he yelped and dodges incoming attacks. "Guys! Stay with me! Magic Hats!" he yelled and a bunch of magician hats came out of nowhere and one of them covers the three. They circled around the beast and then floated still.

"Right, so stage 2?" CF Rouge asked.

"Yep, let's move to stage two." her brothers agreed.

The beast roared in anger and releases a wide electric attack, hitting all the hats… but they are empty. Another hat rolls out from the trees and the triplets burst out of it… and they look more different. Rockman gains 4 more swords, Axl got flying orbs with him and his armor is filled with spell circles and CF Rouge gains five more cannons: another in her free hand, two on her waist and the was two is on her back.

"Distract it for me." CF Rouge quipped and flies off.

"You got it, sis." Axl said as their older brother nodded and charge into attacking.

**:::^*^:::**

Getting under the Duel Arena, Seto began yanking wires, reconnecting them on other sockets and reprogramming the arena. As he does so… the gang just came in with Mokuba ahead of them. "Didn't I told you to stay put?" he asked as he set his laptop down.

"But we want to help… we saw you run off into the battlefield and we thought you got an idea of helping them." Mokuba said as the gang looks on what he's doing.

"What the heck are you doing with your Duel Arena?" Jou asked.

"Ugh… just…" Seto said in annoyance and in a rush. "All right, Mokuba get to the station, I'll signal you to open the dome. Mizaki, watch over my brother. Hiroto, check outside and see how's the battle going on. Mutt and Mutou, find cables in the equipment room and get much as you can."

"At least call me by my name!" Jou yelped in annoyance as he and the group runs to their tasks, in hopes that the CEO knows what he is doing.

**:::^*^:::**

Rockman takes out the two blades, the other three attaches themselves on the ankle and the tail.. He them dives but misses when the monster jumps away to the side. "For a huge guy, he's really…" he stated before he got hit and collide with his sister who's station on top of the building.

"Okay, we definitely need to get the thing to stop MOVING!" she yelled the last part out of annoyance.

"Got it! Spellbind!" Axl shouts and throws a bunch of spell circles to entrap the beast. But it didn't work much since they all missed and he got pounce by the back. The monster stomps on him several times before he gets a Burst Stream on the face and chases after CF Rouge.

"… OW…!" he whined, he a bit covered in dirt and dust.

"Netto! Are you okay?" Rockman shouts, as he lands beside him but he got a glare from his younger brother. "Sorry, standard question."

As he help his brother up. "Hey… is the roof of the dome opening?" Axl asked.

"Huh?" The blue navi said and looks at the dome. "Hey you're right, what's going on?" He said and the both fly into the said dome, there they saw the gang. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh, well… Seto got an idea that would help." Jou said, then a hand poke out of the insides of the Duel Arena, grabbing the wires and making him jump a little.

"Seto?" Axl asked and takes a peek inside of the Arena, then backs away when the CEO pulls himself out.

"That would do." the CEO grunts as he stands up and saw his uncles. "Wait, you left M-Sora?" he asked, nearly saying mama.

"Actually, no, we just saw the roof of the dome opening… now you remind me… SORA!" Rockman screamed and flies off leaving a dust cloud.

This left the gang blinking… "What's up with that?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, that is what we call an overly protective brother or OPB." Axl stated and looks up. "Can't blame him, he nearly lost the both of us when we got ourselves accidentally transported to another world. He nearly thought we were dead… anyway, I better…"

"Wait, can you drag that monster above the dome?" Seto asked and this earns shock looks on the others, thinking he is crazy. But Axl looks at him and the Duel Arena behind him, which is a lot of wires and power outlets are attach to it.

"Wait… you actually made a…" the reploid said and looks at Seto.

"Yes and it can cover a whole dome." he replied as they heard a roar.

'He definitely one of our family' he thought and nodded to the CEO then takes off, as the brunet types on the laptop for some last adjustments. Casting three Dark Magic to the beast to distract it, he holler at his siblings to come near him.

"What's wrong, Axl?" CF Rouge asked.

"Your son got a plan." the hunter quipped and he tells them what he built and what to do.

"Wow, he got the Ijuin genes for business AND the Hikari genes to completely built a Dimensional Area Converter out of a Duel Arena." Rockman said, scratching his head.

"You know, I don't know if I should be proud of him or I should scold him for leaving the safe zone." CF Rouge said, slumping a bit as her partner giggled. "Right, let's get that dog back into it's cage." and her brothers nodded.

The three then attacks at the Grezar. "Hey, you big oaf!, you are nothing but all bark, no bite!" Rockman shouts.

"Hey, that least Rush is a better pet, he can at least summon viruses out!" CF Rouge shouts and rolls in the air to avoid a lightning. "Plus! He's cuter!"

"Yeah!" Axl agreed. "Whoa! Time to lead him into a chase!"

They fly off letting the huge cyber beast chase them, they did some sharps turns and traps to slow it down. Then they attack it a few times before resuming the chase and slowing the beast. They then float above the dome and CF Rouge looks down at her son, giving him a look. He nodded and shouts at the gang to take cover, as he take the laptop. Then…

"Seto, can you hear me?" a fuzzy voice came out of the laptop.

"Sora?" Yami asked, looking a bit surprise at the voice coming from the laptop.

"When I give the signal, hit it, okay?" she said.

"Yeah, got it." the CEO replied, his finger is now position on the keyboard.

"Ready?" CF Rouge asked her brothers.

"Let's do this…" Axl said with Rockman nodding

"OVER HERE! YOU DAMN LUG!" The triplets shouts simultaneously and a roar followed after. "That works." the said in unison, then the huge Cybeast came lunging at them and they split to avoid getting bitten.

"Seto!" CF Rouge shouts. He responds with the pressing the button and the Duel Arena coming to life. It redirect it's projector upward and suddenly it shoots out a white beam, it hit's the beast then it form a round barrier that traps the beast in it. But… the beast roars and begins breaking the barrier, forcing it's way out.

"Guys, this won't last long!" Seto called, seeing the Duel Arena is starting to overheat. "The Duel Arena will blow if that thing breaks the Dimensional Area!"

"Right, turn it off when I give you a call." she said as she position herself and her brother's sensing her plan, also positions themselves.

"What?" the CEO yelped a little.

"Just do it! And take cover!" She replied and charges her cannons… all six of them. Rockman's blades glowed red and Axl's spell circles came off this armor, lining in front of him with the two glowing orbs orbiting around him. Their weapons starts to glow: blue for Sora, red for Rockman and purple for Axl. "Okay… Shut it, Seto!"

Once they heard the machine shutting down and the barrier breaks apart.

"Omega Burst Stream!/Tera Inferno Flare!/ Dark Nightmare Force!" they shouts and release their attacks as the Dimensional Area disappears and the monster couldn't react fast enough to avoid the attacks.

Grezar… **Deleted.**

**:::^*^:::**

"Ah and of course, the prototype has a slight problem with the Dimensional Area." Fatin said, as she close her fan.

"Yeah… that's a real disappointment." Vile said with sarcasm.

"Nope! It's a development!" the lady said cheerily and turns to Sigma. "Well?"

"I admit for a prototype to be this strong." he said. "And they merely won by the interference of those pesky kids."

"I'm glad to hear that… but you'll be more please on the next steps for improvement." she said and walks away with Meiru and Vile behind her.

"Rule every dimension of the universe…" Sigma uttered once he is left alone. "I truly love this!" he shouts in glee and laughs maniacally.

**:::^*^:::**

"My lord… he has taken the bait."

"Good… you may go."

"Hai."

"There can only be one ruler… and he'll die before he even puts the crown on his head."

**:::^*^:::**

"You guys, ROCK!" Jou said in excitement as he fist pumps with Axl, his sister and older brother lands beside him… But before Rockman could touch the ground, he suddenly glowed and becomes a PET as the card fell and floated around the PET. Axl quickly caught the PET before it fell as the cards flies back to the blonde's deck holster.

Similar thing happens to Axl and CF Rouge, as soon as she defuses from her partner…

"Sora." Seto called and pulls her away from the group. "About the Core… I just remember where it came from."

"Really?" she asked and he nodded.

"What are you guys talking about?" a voice pipes up and we look behind to see Mokuba.

"Uh… he is kinda blaming me for park damages." She said blandly and he seem to agree with me, just to cover up.

"HEY! They just saved our life and you complain about the damage in your park!" Jou shouts and have to be held down by Axl, to prevent him from punching the daylights out of his nephew.

"_Not really, blondie/mutt."_ Both Sora and Seto thought… till they realize that they used a mind link! _"Holy shit!" _they exclaimed.

"_We heard that!" _Both Axl and Rockman shouts.

"_Dang… looks like our presence just help Seto gain our mind link ability." _Sora quipped.

"_This is useful… no need of a phone if it was taken." _Seto said and made her smile.

"_So true… so…you remember where the Core came from?" _she asked.

"_Yeah… I'll bring you there once we ditch the geek squad."_ the CEO replied.

"_Oi, oi, be nice." _She scolded him, as they walks towards the exit of the dome.

"_Mama… please, I don't even like them!" _He stated coldly, as he walks beside her with Mokuba on his side. They soon exit the facility and heads for the mansion, much to Mokuba's and the triplets' persuasion on the CEO, for a much needed rest.

**:::^*^:::**

The next day…

"Wow… so this is…" Sora said.

"Yeah, I was five when I fell into this hole back when I was camping with my foster dad." Seto said, around them are mirror-like crystals and they give off a rainbow-like glow… Mind you, it not the former CEO of KaibaCorp he's telling, it's Mokuba's parents. When they found this place, it is right in the forest by the south and… well… Honda fell head first into it.

It turns out that he was outnumbered by his own family and Mokuba, even P. Rouge who's hiding in his laptop, thus letting the gang to come with him to the place.

"Yeah, that was so amusing … now, will you all SHUT IT!" Honda shouts, while the others just fell into a laughing fit.

"So… when will you tell your brother?" I asked in a low voice volume.

"I don't know… perhaps when the time is right." the CEO sighs as he watches his brother smile.

"Hey." Sora said with a smile. "You know, I would love to adopt him into the family, I mean, he's just a sweet boy."

And the CEO smiled. "You would?" he asked.

"Yeah… I promise!" She answer back.

Walking further into the tunnel they soon found a crystal well and it absolutely beautiful. Around it are more crystals but they now look like pillars with crystal vines wrapping around it. In the well, is a crystal clear blue water with a hint of green in it. "This is it." the CEO uttered and points at the well.

"Okay…" Sora said and takes out the crystal flower from her sub-space. "So… where…?"

"Place it in the water." They heard the familiar voice of P. Rouge, but for the gang they jump in alert and wondered who it is. Following the instruction, she places the flower into the water, slowly it dissolves and sinks below. It didn't take long for the well to shine then…

The gang yelps as the entrance is sealed by the crystals, separating them from Seto and the triplets. Then P. Rouge appears with a smile. "Mission accomplish you guys." she said with a cheer, as a tear-drop crystal came out of the water and floated towards the siblings. She then disappear…

"This is… good-bye then…" Seto said, although looking quite emotionless, his eyes is downcast and depress.

"Seto…" Sora said and the brunet looks at her. "If you ever find my future self, don't hesitate on asking why I left, okay?"

"Are you sure about that?" the CEO asked, looking at her.

"Meh… P. Rouge didn't bother telling me about the events that led to this… so asked future me or her, okay?" she replied.

"Mama…" Seto said.

"I'm glad that we met." she said and touches the gem. "But I'm not what you need, Set-kun… look for the future me."

"I will." he said, determine to find his real family and the truth why she left them.

"Seto, try to be friendly." Netto said, as he touches the gem. "It's okay to have technology as friends, but it would not work on your social skills on other people."

Seto smiled and swipes the tears the have slips out of his eyes. Then the crystal that blocks the gang from them is removed and they rush in to see if they are okay, only to be surprise at the two siblings have found the crystal.

"So… this is good-bye…?" Yugi asked, a little sad that they are leaving.

"Not really, it's more on See ya, Yugi." Netto said.

"Will be able to meet again?" Anzu asked.

"Maybe…" Sora said with a shrug. "Who knows, probably when a maniac tries to conquer the dimension and tries to get rid of us, but ends up transporting to another dimension… perhaps."

"It's great meeting you guys." Rockman said, now near the crystal. "We maybe far away but we'll remain here." pointing at his chest. "Got it?"

And with the agreement of the gang, the blue navi touches the gem and it shines bright. A portal opens and a ribbon-like light wraps around their waist, hoisting them in then closes and fades away. The gang stared at the spot where the siblings are supposed to be, each wishing luck for them as they leave the area…

Except Seto didn't left and remains a little while.

"Seto…" a voice called and he turns to see an odd PET. "Seto, it's me, P. Rouge."

Realizing that the PET are home for navis, he stride forward and grab the said item. He consider it a miracle that the system didn't went obsolete and is still intact. Looking at the PET, he came face-to-face on his mother's navi.

"I guess you got so many questions you want me to answer." she said.

"Yeah." he replied.

She smiled. "Very well, but some answers will take a long time. So, can you be patient with me?"

"… Very well." he said.

"Thank you." she said and rest inside her PET, as Mokuba calls for his brother and Seto secretly pockets the device.

'Mama… I'll definitely find you.' he thought as his brother came to view. 'And please… help me on breaking the news to Mokuba.'

**:::^*^:::**

"WHOA!" they yelped as they are drop, once more, on the ground. This time, they land on Meijin and with matching grins on their faces.

"We got the KEY!" they cheered and raise up the gem for everyone to see.

And somewhere in the shadows, he smiles.

"You did well… but it's not yet over." Liberius uttered, knowing that they will have a long battle ahead and he have to watch over Fatin's plans…

Determined that only his Heirs can take the Thrones.

* * *

Silver: Meh… not the best, and I nearly lost motivation on finishing this chapter after I learned that Megaman Legends 3 is cancelled 2 month ago. Muuu… It's the only thing that's keeping me motivated in this! Anyway, I got motivated again thanks to a fic called Return of a Madman… although, a little easy on the love scene of X and Alia…

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK!**

But this time…

"But on the bright side, Enzan and Laika are here with us." Rockman said, encouraging his siblings with Rouge agreeing to it. Meanwhile, as Laika kept his watch and defense up, Enzan's mind wander off as he stares out of the window.

'I never expected this… well, I know Sora and her brothers can withstand the forces in dimension-hopping, but bringing us along?' he thought and turns to see a prestigious looking school. 'I never thought of returning to this world… the world I used to rebelled, destroyed and created as…'

Then an image of a raven boy with purple eyes appears before him on the window's reflection, staring at him with the same look.

* * *

Silver: That's right… can you guess what's up with Enzan?


	34. Warning! Not a Chapter!

**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!**

**This is not a chapter, I repeat, This is not a chapter.**

...

Okay, I just got back into the Megaman fandom thanks to: Project X Zone (Yeah! X is in the Zone! (gets hit by a desk)), the X Fanimation (why X can't be that badass?), Megaman in SSB4 (finally!), and the fan games (Unlimited, Chrono X, they rock on making games more than Capcom).

Anyway, yes, I'm back and currently I'm fixing the Command Mission arc. I've notice that in Reploidian, that there are less human interaction than in Cybertronic. So yeah, I'll be adding the Reploidian's human view and opinions on reploids, which will clash with Sora's own. Pretty much, it's Cynicism vs. Idealism in the next revising chapters (Think Turbo... no, not Power Rangers! The snail movie!)

Also, I need a vote... whether I should go with the initial crossover, or change it. I love Code Geass, I really do... But then the Protomen came and now I'm confused on what to use as the last crossover. Yes, I've told my friend Cam about this is sent her the link of the said album. She also like the dark version of the Megaman, and in rock opera, but she told me that I should decide because I wrote this fic... Awkward...

So... I'll continue revising this then resume updating chapters once I get enough votes by September.

Side note: Lack of Megaman/Rockman makes me jump into other fandoms, so... Make a MM/RM game! Capcom!

EDIT: Added a poll in my profile, please look and vote. Thank you.


End file.
